


Reclamation

by PointyCircle



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect - Various Authors, Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Politics, Combat, Drinking, Dual Human Societies, F/M, Fear, Fear of Death, Gen, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Marines, Military, Political Alliances, Politics, Reclaimer, The mantle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27774769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PointyCircle/pseuds/PointyCircle
Summary: A UNSC cruiser activates a dormant Relay, forcing the politically divided UNSC into a new war against the Reaper menace. Discovering the races of the Citadel, and more importantly a second form of Humanity, the stage is set for events that will utterly shatter the Galaxy. Enemies old and new will rise. The UNSC must fight not just conventional enemies, but enemies within. And enemies that know them even better than they know themselves.The Master Chief, distraught after the loss of Cortana to the Didact, will find himself once again in the middle of Humanity's greatest struggles. Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy after fighting the Reapers and Cerberus for several months must confront the reality of dealing with an extremely brutal and militaristic branch of Humanity: The UNSC, who refuse to transfer power to a civilian government after the events of Requiem.Only one group can claim the Mantle of Responsibility. War is inevitable. Political intrigue a given. Death is certain.The Reclamation has already begun, and we are hopeless to stop it.(Post Halo 4/ mid-ME3. Paragon Male Shepard. AU - background statistics and some alterations to technology.)
Relationships: Male Shepard/Liara T'Soni, Maybe others you sick freaks
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	1. First unto the Breach

**Author's Note:**

> Original work posted on Fanfiction.net. Will post the full work here in the coming week(s). May post one of those...story music playlists...idk. Anyways, enjoy...

__

_"_ _Humanity stands as the greatest threat in the galaxy. Refusing to eradicate them is a fool's gambit. We squander eons in the darkness, while they seize our triumphs for their own. The Mantle of Responsibility for all things belongs to Forerunners alone. Think of my acts as you will. But do not doubt the reality: the Reclamation... has already begun. And we are hopeless to stop it."_

_-_ The Ur-Didact. Date unknown.

* * *

**Aboard UNSC** _**Legend After**_

**18 light years outside UNSC space**

**July 28th, 2557 Military Calendar, 08:36**

It was interesting to think how insignificant this threat was compared to the unimaginable scale in the universe.

The Elites found it first. A great fear that remained classified to the people of Earth. A fear of an ancient race that almost brought complete destruction to every being in the Milky Way galaxy along with the defeat of the UNSC. Of course, it was only a matter of time before another Halo was discovered.

An Elite recon corvette was scouting what they believed was some sort of beacon. Identity and signature were unknown. However, it was similar in composition to the same beacon that led the pride of the Navy, UNSC _Infinity_ to another Halo Ring earlier in the year. Both times, the beacon immediately deactivated once the ships neared the Ring.

Still, there was something else out there.

A day after the initial discovery, a massive gravitational depression within the space-time curvature was detected, only about ten thousand kilometers out from the Halo. It surrounded an unnatural object, containing a large one-way directed energy output. The object was small and very dense. At first the Elites thought it was the center of a black hole. However, when they approached...

They discovered something else, something oddly frightening for such a relatively tiny object in the presence of one of the Rings.

It was pure white, standing perfectly still even with the distant gravitational influences of the Halo and local star.

The artifact was codenamed God's Key. Encased in ice, it had two prongs extended out from an ellipse-shaped base, stretching towards a distant point in space. An oval at the bulbous end encompassed two rings that overlapped each other. Antennas strut out from near the connected side of the oval. Trenches were carved in the sides of the Key, with nothing but blackness within them.

Hours later, the Elites contacted the UNSC. When they did, the geeks were falling over themselves with same idiotic cycle of excitement that had gotten so many killed in previous hostile environments.

And supporting the eggheads was the Shadow of the Navy, the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Even with the ventures of ONI into Forerunner technology, precautionary measures were placed to prevent any...predictable reactions. Countermeasures, guard units, fail safes, and more. If the head of security even _felt_ that something was wrong, orders were to eliminate the artifact with extreme prejudice.

If it was even possible.

It made sense. The UNSC didn't want a repeat conflict or any other form of disastrous event to occur if it could be avoided. For example there was the discovery of Installation 04 and the immediate need for its destruction along with the UNSC _Pillar of Autumn_. Later, the discovery of Installation 05, leading to a battle that almost completely destroyed Humanity along with all other life in the galaxy. Next, the Battle of Installation 00, where Sierra-117 sacrificed himself in order to stop the Covenant to save Humanity.

And then only weeks ago there was the annihilation of the Installation 03 research station. ONI sanitized the events well, but from what was left open it was fairly clear that there were no survivors.

And finally, there was the recent battle over Earth against an ancient Forerunner being that everyone was still talking about. The details were still blurry, partial, and contradictory.

ONI had been able to hide all this from the public well enough, and at times hide it from even the Officer Corps. Everything relating to the Forerunners had been classified by the order of the UNSC High Command. Only the upper echelons of the Navy knew the full story. The rest of the officers had to go off parcels of rumors and misinformation, piecing together to discover a small bit of the truth.

Still, the scientists were somehow able to ignore the track record. They argued that nothing could be really studied until they got near the artifact. Only so much information could be retrieved from a far distance. Seeing as the object was a complete unknown, permission was given after ONI backed the claims, persuading the UNSC to give them the pseudo-green light...

...At least that's what ONI toldCaptain Mark Florence, that the UNSC NAvy had given the green light. He looked towards the station surrounded by the black void and thousands of distant stars. He sighed and turned to the young and green faces of the crew. The ship was newly built, one of the thousands the UNSC pumped out year after year. The same could apply to the crew. Most of them were somewhere between sixteen and twenty. Still awkward, still young, still pretty swabbie as they bumped into each other every once and awhile. Every time they spoke the lack of confidence melted into every word. Even with the boost of military training, only so much could be done to prepare them. The only thing that would toughen them now would be experience.

Mark couldn't really say much. Most of his experience came in the final days of the war, when Humanity could only see darkness. Age, experience, and in extreme cases, ability, were no longer a factor. Just like the United States during the Second World War, the UN held emergency promotions and placements to replace gaps left opened by KIA personnel. Seemed like the UNSC forgot to demote him afterwards.

He looked old, hopefully. Dark circles had quickly developed during the first days during service in the Great War along with a natural rough complexion etched in the brown skin of a Neapolitan and Spaniard inheritance.

The ship's engines hummed ever so slightly, bringing him from his thoughts. It was easy to get used to that sound when the mind learned to silence it out after three months of tour, guarding UNSC borders in case the Elites decide to say "fuck it" and attack them. The blue and green lights of the holo-table and other control panels flickered and illuminated the bridge as sailors quietly moved from one station to another. There was a peaceful calmness that's always present in the quiet depths of space.

UNSC _Shadow Man_ passed overhead. The ship windows darkened in reaction to the bright blue lights of their engines. There were three ships in this hastily thrown-together 'battle group.' UNSC _Legend After_ , Captain Florence's own ship, was the only fully armed conventional warship nearby. They were pulled off prematurely from what would've been a nine-month patrol. The other ship was a UNSC research vessel, _Shadow Man_. Merely a modified civilian freighter, it would be useless in a fight. The third ship was a UNSC Black Cat Prowler, _Bar Fight_.

The research vessel was probably pulled off from the constant scans and analysis on the new planets within Elite territory. The Prowler was obviously pulled from the constant spying and sabotage ONI played on the Elites.

The more the merrier. This group was a strange collection of ships. They were not prepared to deal with a full Forerunner threat.

ONI didn't care.

The beloved and always truthful Office of Naval Intelligence, primarily her holiest highness Admiral Serin Osman herself, called upon the services of Captain Florence's patrol ship. Her text orders were vague and enigmatic. And they weren't exactly in a position to say no. Some ONI computer plotted their course so Mark or the ship's AI couldn't tell where they were without an astrological survey and analysis. That would take a few hours at a minimum.

ONI could've waited to reinforce the security team, but from what Mark could tell they were rushing so their supposed Elite allies wouldn't be able to gain anything. Any new type of technology or intel that could be used against Humanity was secured as fast as possible, stretching resources thin in some parts of Human territory. That being said, it was three UNSC ships against the former Covenant Fleet of Retribution, led by the _Shadow of Intent._ So far the Sangheili held off twenty-thousand klicks near the ring, but who knew how long that would last.

Captain Florence immediately informed FLEETCOM when he received orders from ONI. In turn they informed HIGHCOM, including Lord Hood himself. That was about twenty minutes ago, however, and they hadn't responded since.

"Captain, ships are dangerously near the deck. _Shadow Man_ is trying to get to the port side of God's Key, converse about ten klicks out, front pointing north in our frame of direction," reported Lieutenant Morganson. She was sitting back comfortably at her station, her fingers gliding through the holograms.

"Tell _Shadow Man_ to stand by. I want the _Legend After_ to move into a higher elevation on our orientation to provide better support if necessary. Inform Lord Hood of all movement," Captain Florence ordered.

"So we're moving without Lord Hood's conformation first?" Morganson asked, a doubtful look on her face as she relayed the orders.

"This is ONI's op," Florence replied, a bit annoyed at the lack of contact with the Fleet Admiral. " _Shadow Man_ and _Bar Fight_ reports directly to them. If we don't comply, Osman will be pissed."

He just hoped they didn't do anything stupid.

Great. Right now all he had were guys who had no idea how to handle this kind of situation. Hell, _he barely_ knew how to handle this situation.

He asked himself if Morganson was right, whether letting go ahead was endangering the ship and her crew. ONI's priority didn't matter. The Navy's did. They should only be allowed to move once HIGHCOM gave the go ahead. As the ship prepared to move forth however, those voices of doubt and reason faded out into absolute silence.

"Aye, aye, Skipper," Morganson answered after a moment. Her voice was extremely skeptical.

"Contradiction, move the ship to coordinates zero by zero by five by three by seven-three, port side," the captain ordered. He turned to the ship A.I., who stood on the holo-table going through screen after screen of information.

"Captain, I'm legally liable to inform you by law that we _shouldn't_ move until Lord Hood is informed. It's only a couple light years away, through slipspace it'll only take a few dozen minutes..." Contradiction said with his usual tone of condescension and, when one looked for it, hostility.

Contradiction. God knows why he called himself that. His avatar was the appearance of a young guy in his early twenties. His blue, holographic curly hair was matted under a purple hat of some team from a long forgotten sport. He wore a plain white T-shirt that covered his lanky body and jeans that covered up his dead brand of Nike shoes. His face looked innocent. Innocent enough at least.

The AI crossed his arms, smirking at the Captain.

"Understood, Contradiction, but they report to ONI. Either way, they're not gonna pass the hard deck so it should be alright," he's sure Contradiction could sense the doubt in his voice.

"Skipper, you know a hard deck is just a foundation of what is _suggested_? It isn't a smart idea to scratch up against the border, especially with Forerunner tech."

Right. Mark wondered how this pesky fourth generation AI made it past the orders testing. How ONI hadn't scrapped him for defiance was beyond him. Three months with this AI and Mark was constantly seconds away from taking a MA5D and shooting up his central processors. He was annoying, belligerent, and burdensome. The close confines of a vessel in space for months on end made it worse. To think that after this, they still had six more months to go...

"Captain," the A.I said, almost pleading. He crossed his arms and leaned on one leg.

 _Then again_ , he was right. "Fine. Move to coordinates zero by five by five over four, face pointing north in our frame of direction, away from the hard deck. Get the scanner on that thing, tell me what you know. That's an order." Captain Florence said.

"It's a bit better, sure, but maybe we can negotiate something a bit less, uh, close?"

"Do it, Contradiction."

"No fun? Right. Anyways, moving to coordinates, stand by."

The Captain's biases were screwing with his judgement. Contradiction was right. Mark was taking a big risk to ensure that Her Highness was kept calm. They were in Naval Intelligence territory. For all he knew, ONI had cutoff their communications to ensure classified intel wasn't leaked... or they were cut off for more terrifying reasons. He had to be careful, do the bare minimum until the admiralty, or HIGHCOM itself responded. Soon hopefully.

The deck of the _Legend After_ vibrated and rumbled as the engines released more energy into the boundless expanse of space, skipping by the other two UNSC ships. The other ships' engines displayed a dark blue light, energized and ready to increase output even more at the command of their crew. Small lights displayed the names of the ships on their hull for identification. The few point-defense cannons they had were cold and set to resting position.

Mark felt the pressure increase as the Key drew near. It became more of an effort for his lungs to expand. To combat this common reaction to stressful situations, the UNSC had taught him breathing techniques. Small, short breaths, otherwise his lungs might not have the strength to expand again.

"This is Captain Florence to _Shadow Man,_ we're moving five klicks out away from the hard deck _._ Move into a defensive position behind us. You don't have authorization to move in. I say again, you do not have authorization," the Captain announced over the comm as his ship moved forward.

"Copy that, Captain. We'll follow your lead," the commander of the research vessel responded, slightly defeated.

"Weapons hot! Shields on with backups on standby. Order the _Bar Fight_ and the _Shadow Man_ to do the same _._ " Captain Florence ordered.

 _Bar Fight_ had few armaments but heavy-duty shields while the _Shadow Man_ only had weak static shields in order to block any space debris. There were small disruptions within the black outlines of space as the shields began to surround the ship.

The _Legend After_ neared its destination. The main engines deactivated to allow the ship's momentum to carry them. Soon enough, the Reaction Control System engines would activate. Yellow flares would ignite at the front of the ship, killing off whatever speed they had left.

The rumble of the deck continued as the ships were bathed in the light of the local star that the Halo orbited.

Within a second, though, the rumbling stopped. Calmness reigned over as the ship silently drifted forwards to the Key. The ship entered its intended position and began to slow its momentum as the RCS engines fired. When the _Legend After_ had set itself into position, one of the sailor's scanners blinked red.

"Warrant Officer, what's wrong?" Mark said.

"Uhh…standby. The God's Key gravitational depression is slightly increasing in size. Oh, shit."

"What's going on?"

"I'm reading heavy gravitational flux coming directly from the object. .. Fucking Christ, the readings are saying the black hole is increasing, sir!" the watchmen reported, his voice strained. "Jesus Christ, this thing is a black hole!"

The emergency lights of the bridge ignited, amassing the dark room in red lights. A emergency klaxon sounded off. Crew members immediately awakened from their calmness, rushing to action stations and sprinting past each other, preparing for what they'd trained for.

A black hole...? From where? He watched as his crew readied the ship. Fast and automatic, installed on day one. They prepped their stations, all waiting for Captain Florence's orders.

Mark felt the pull of gravity towards the front of the bridge, as if someone was tugging at the Captain's uniform. The RCS engines failed and the ship began to accelerate, not from their main engines, but from the gravitational influence of the God's Key. The ship's bow jolted downwards, pushing the engines upwards. The bridge view showed only a small part of the artifact as the vessel was disoriented. Flares across the hull activated as the RCS engines fired, trying to maintain their original orientation.

"Captain, the artifact is starting to drag us in along with the _Shadow Man_ and the _Bar Fight_. I'm reading a small electric pulse from inside the energy pool of the Key, but that's all I can tell. Orders, sir?" Contradiction requested, maintaining the same expression throughout the alarming statement. His apathy was his attempt to remain calm and separate from the more human emotions the Fourth Generations possessed.

Mark didn't answer, only looked upon the situation in a lethargic fashion. He didn't know what to do.

Different sailors began to yell out details of the situation. Their voices became a murk of screams and yells to the captain. Only a few were audible while the rest were seemingly replaced by whispers. Every whisper was someone else, someone that was part of his crew…

"Captain, _Bar Fight_ is loading fifty millimeters. They are going to engage. The _Shadow Man_ 's captain is requesting orders, sir!"

"Sir! Gravitational depression is increasing in size, and the event horizon is closing in. Engines are losing control. Orders!"

The ship began to spin, drifted closer to the artifact. Mark could feel his body being pulled in different directions. The ship tried to readjust as the anomaly forced them closer and closer.

"The event horizon is nearing. We are two kilometers away and closing. Orders!?"

The ice broke off to present the unmarred surface of the Key. Inside the object, the rings began to twist around each other, activating a small ball of dark blue and black pulsing energy. Blue lights ignited within the previously dark indentations and trenches, lighting up the object. The rings quickly sped up to a blistering number of revolutions, looking like they had gone out of control.

"Captain, rings are increasing to eighty-five hundred plus revolutions per minute."

_Orders…destroy artifact…._

"Sir, I'm reading another disruption near the first anomaly. Two distortions, sir, I repeat, twin gravitational distortions. They are morphing together, standby…"

"I'm giving it all she's got, Captain! We are one klick from the event horizon!"

_Destroy…._

"Alright, both anomalies are forming together at their combined gravitational influence. They're forming a binary orbit."

"Half-a-click out."

… _Priority?_

Mark didn't respond. Shadows filled the corners of his sight. The horror of the sailors rose as training disappeared every second that their Captain didn't respond.

"MAC on standby, sir! All weapons are hot and ready at your command."

_Of your destiny._

"Captain! The shipmaster and the rest of the shark heads are going to engage without us! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOUR ORDERS, SIR!?" Contradiction yelled. His voice was filled with actual panic this time.

Whatever the hell took hold of Mark finally faded. He broke free. He realized what was going on

He rose to be an officer of the United Nations Space Command, dutiful like every soldier. Defend Humanity from any threat.

"We are a quarter of a klick away from the event horizon!" Morganson reported, panicked

Captain Florence was about to order the ship to execute a momentary symmetrical alignment so the nose would point directly towards the God's Key long enough to fire the MAC. However, the blackness of space disappeared, replaced with what looked like a tunnel of bright blue colors. The ship spiraled out of control within this stream, creating turbulence that rocked the bridge worse than any engine transmission or hull breach could. The force knocked Florence to his knees and threw him and other crew members in a variety of directions. The Captain quickly grabbed onto the rail of the holo-display, using his strength to pull him towards the small table.

It quickly ended and they once more looked on a veil of stars as they entered back into the void of space. The ship was out of its previous alignment. The bow pointed in a random direction. Stars flew by the observation window as the vessel moved from its exit position, rolling out of control. Within moments, the RCS engines activated and the ship re-oriented itself. The view displayed the two other UNSC ships as they did the same.

Something else drew their attention though, past the ships. It was surrounded by bursts of red and blue explosions.

Captain Florence stood straight, leaned against the holo-display, and tried not to vomit. He felt a small kick within his stomach. Contradiction, the bastard, remained the same. He purposely only showed slight sympathy by misplacing a curl of hair on his avatar.

The crew members also got up, pulled themselves back into their station's seats and tried to assess the situation. Many held down their stomachs with groans and gagging, but some had obviously failed. There were splashing sounds against the bridge deck.

Mark took a few deep breaths. His head rested against the railing as he tried to calm down.

_He had panicked._

Even in the worst of the War, in the last days of Reach, he had never frozen like that. Like a fucking deer in headlights. What would've happened if he ordered the destruction of the God's Key sooner? Would the key spread out of control and condemn the vanguard group to spaghettification? The reviews, hindsight, and constant regrets of what would've happened if he had remained in the bounds of the UNSC Navy raced in his mind. He needlessly risked the entire crews of three starships, all due to an incompetent officer.

From incompetence bore uncertainty. Where were they?

The aurora of natural star light curtained the grey metals of the ships as the bridge got a full display of the system's yellow star. The window darkened to counteract the glare, creating a clear view of space and the distant star...and...

"Get me a status report," the Captain quietly said, whether in shock, fear, distraught, or possibly all three was unknown. Reality stopped processing in his mind.

"We are at unidentified coordinates, unable to accurately calculate a location until I have a definite point of origin. Not with this ONI blind jump bullshit," Contradiction replied. "I'm reading hundreds of gravitational anomalies similar to the God's Key. They're each showing a massive electrical pulse, but alternating current instead of direct or the regular nuclear fusion we've got. Massive beta radiation signals from each gravitational depression. I'm not getting an exact number on the distortions. They're showing weird signals when near each other. I'm identifying the God's Key about fifteen klicks behind us, producing the same binary anomaly," he reported, as if there was nothing wrong.

"Ship is fully operational, shields are at full strength, all weapons on standby, and ammunition is at ninety-two percent," he continued, "all crew accounted for. UNSC _Shadow Man_ and the _Bar Fight_ are green and combat ready. From weak distant gravitational influences it's hard for me to tell the difference between density index and relative distance for unknown contacts. I can use color wavelength, scan parameters, and actual long-distance scopes to calculate celestial object position and possibly density, but it'll take some time. For the moment we're completely blind, but the visuals don't lie."

The AI turned towards the object the rest of the quiet and dumbfounded crew was already staring at. What lay in the distance absorbed the rays of the local star, with a surface of skinny continents surrounded by seas of blue. It twisted to bathe each side in the light. Massive orange fires that were visible from space could be seen on the dark side of the sphere.

Surrounding the planet were the blue and red explosions that began to paint the bridge in various colors. It was unknown where they were ignited from, each appearing as a ball, bursting, and then disappearing.

Fear and regret. This idiotic mistake had lead them to find...whatever this was. It just had to be them.

Had to be Mark.

The question this time was what had they just walked into?

Nobody moved, still taking in the planet. Contradiction tapped a screen next to his avatar. "Alright, Captain. I'm sending out controlled radar bursts. Each individual anomaly that isn't a planet centers on a single space-faring, unnatural object. Each one is moving with controlled trajectories, unnaturally moving against gravitational influences. They're most likely UFOs. Source of gravitational depression reads the same as the God's Key, yet it isn't sucking the UFOs inside out or doing anything that a strong gravitational distortion usually does, just like the God's Key. There seems to be low-level visible laser based weapons, but no high-wave for some reason, which would be more efficient. I might be analyzing this wrong. No, wait, this-"

"Contradiction, what the hell happened?" the Captain said in a hollow voice. Contradiction stopped for a moment.

The AI sighed, opening up another monitor screen and bringing up an image of the God's Key. There were small alterations to the design. The end of the ellipse where it connected held a small hollow opening, thinning the connecting structures to the point where the only thing that could hold it together was the zero-g force of space.

"For once," the AI began, "I have no idea. The God's Key created a binary gravitational disturbance, similar to binary black holes, one of the most powerful gravitational influences in astrophysics. From my point of view, excluding all the laws of physics, the anomalies caused us to slingshot at a velocity that should've created massive gravitation and turned us flatter than a fucking pancake. We immediately halted from that velocity, and all momentum was erased without any consequences from kinetic energy."

"And the God's Key traveled with us?" Mark asked. "Why isn't this black hole sucking us in again?"

"At this point, sir, I'm not sure I would call this a black hole, since this thing isn't showing any of the usual gravitational properties _of_ a black hole. Whatever kind of properties there are unidentifiable at the moment. I'll continue to analyze, and possibly find a point of origin to calculate our galactic position. As for the God's Key, I'm not sure this is the same one. There was nothing indicating any ability for space movement, but its possible that the anomaly slung it with us. Either way, I'm glad you turned on the shields beforehand, otherwise, we would've collided with some random particle and been ripped to shreds."

Contradiction ignored any objections from the captain and continued, "I'm seeing two distinct ship designs in conflict. One side bears similar characteristics to UNSC ships, with slight alterations such as a shorter length and height, but sharing the bulky and angular design Humanity favors. Sizes vary to single-manned fighters, hundred-sixty meters, five-hundred meters, and one kilometer. Hulls are painted red and white with a shared symbol. Can't identify from the blue scope. As for the other designs, ship hulls are red and black coloring and look like... Standby, verifying on the blue scope."

Mark looked to the holo-table panels. Contradiction was analyzing readings of the planet's atmosphere and results were processing. The surface itself seemed to be carbon-based, but the areas where the orange light was most concentrated produced large readings of unnatural gamma radiation. When Mark looked back to the scorched world, he realized what this was similar to.

_Glassing._

A glassing out here? Another Covenant-like tactic used to decimate the surface of a planet and the population. His mind moved on, trying to grasp anything. The reality hit the Captain in the chest again like a bullet.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but his vision went slightly blurry for a few brief moments. From the looks of the other sailors, they also had the same physical effect. To be placed in this situation was unimaginable. It was bad enough for anyone else in the UNSC to encounter this situation, but it was them? Out of all thirty-one fleets of the UNSC Navy and the thousands of space-worthy ships?

"Contradiction, check all local system formations, planet mass-density ratios, and ship foundations with all UNSC databases." Mark said.

"Checking. Nothing, sir."

"I need you to be one-hundred percent sure."

"Checking again. Nothing. Double-checking. Still nothing. Sir, there's no matches within the database."

The beauty of the planet paraded itself like a beacon among the chaos, baited them to land upon its surface.

"Distance to the nearest ship?" the Captain requested.

"Nearest group, four vessels surrounding the first described ship designs about fifteen-thousand kilometers from our position. I'm picking up a series of gravitational anomalies heading towards our battle group in the form of…wavelengths? It's going to take me a while to recode and make them compatible with our communications. UFOs' engines are off and are running on momentum. Judging from the hulls, all ships seemed to have taken heavy damage."

Despite what the captain felt, nothing edged into his words except the confidence and emotional void of the voice of every good commander possessed.

"Scan and process all information you can. Send immediate threat assessment to Fleet Command through a slipspace transmission burst targeted to any nearby UNSC relay, priority X-X-X dash X-D directive. UFOs assumed to be hostile and extremely dangerous. Prep all weapons and have generators online with backups standing by. Triple fusion reactors on full energy output operations. Morganson, calculate local star formations with all known databases. Contradiction, transfer processors to help her identify approximate location. Once completed, prep all ships for immediate slipspace jump. In the meantime, we're going to defend this position."

The crew was silent. From hearing the words of their commander it was final, undeniable. No amount of training could have prepared them for this, to see the horrors of their parents, of their family members, of what they themselves witnessed.. Because of this, because of an understandable fear, first contact procedures were for immediate analysis of all alien capabilities and technologies and file it immediately to FLEETCOM, then evacuate all UNSC personnel from the area to more suitable defensive locations. From immediate failures, Mark was fulfilling orders.

"Cap, are you sure this is first contact? We…it…" Morganson trailed off.

"I'm sure, Ensign," Mark replied, no sign of impatience in his voice. "Forerunner artifacts have led us here. We have no idea of their technological capabilities, so we have to consider them all a high priority threat-"

"Captain! Identifying additional contacts, near the first group. Two vessels surrounding two second design UFOs. Both are two klicks in length," Contradiction reported.

"Jesus Christ…" One of the other sailors said.

Mark ordered for the scopes to show it. Half of the viewing screen changed to the situation fifteen-thousand klicks out. The first group of ships were near to what Contradiction described. Instead of the emphasis on thin and tall, these ships were only about fifty to one-hundred meters in height and held a wider hull than UNSC counterparts. Two wings expanded downwards at a thirty-degree angle from each ship, painted with red stripes running down the edge of the hulls. Something came in from the direction of the planet, a black and red object only outlined and separated from space by a greyish tint that absorbed the rays of the sun.

"Contradiction, I'm about to look at the other ship design. What can you tell me about it?" Mark said.

"Uh, foundational structures are crafted almost like a spine, with multiple bending metal vertebras forming a central structure connecting what looks like six movable tentacle-like metals. Christ, the thing looks like a literal giant squid. Standby, ship groups are interacting."

The new group appeared into view, and Contradiction's description was correct. The main structure near the upper region of the ship was like a crescent crown shaped with a thin elongated body splitting apart into six tentacles, each moving like it had a mind of its own. Metal pieces, elegant and cut into harsh geometrical shapes, made up the lower region and outer curvatures of the crescent, creating the sense of a completely flexible body. It was larger than an _Autumn-_ class cruiser yet thinner. It probably provided a cramped and dangerous fit for the crew.

Judging from the design these things weren't meant to withstand long-range combat maneuvers, especially with its plethora of bendable points. The tentacles reached back, acting like retractable wings as if drag were a factor in space. Overall, it was designed like a knife, meant to move in close and slash the enemy apart. Any naval captain flying long enough could easily see that.

The other ships stopped mid-transit without any visual evidence of RCS engines. The vessels turned toward the squids. Blue flares ignited off the hulls launching at the Squids. Those blue lights never touched the physical base of the ship, bouncing off whatever type of shield they possess. The Squids returned fire, shooting a beam of pure red and black light from the midst of the tentacles under the bottom base of the main structure. Overpowering what little shields the ships had, the beam sliced through their hulls, quickly cutting them in pieces while fires fueled by escaping air burst from the breaches.

In only a few minutes it was over. The first group was torn apart so quick they weren't even able to provide a tactical counter strike against such overpowering weapons. The squids still moved forwards, closing like a fast strike group. They turned towards the UNSC group, twisting at an impossible angle without visible RCS systems. Momentum alone should've given the ship's crew a kick in the chest at the least.

"Cap, they're turning towards us... Squid reinforcements are coming in. Three ships at one-hundred-sixty meters in length. They're increasing speed for what looks like an attack run," Contradiction informed him, moving the screen to show the closing ships.

The squids showed their fronts, feared by all those who oppose them. Smaller squids tagged on both sides of the larger ships, protected the flank.

"Get that priority slipspace burst out now! Contradiction, can you calculate a slipspace trajectory?!"

"Negative, I have no idea where we are! Well, I mean I do, but I don't. I just got the point of origin figured out from the grav influence from the Ring and based off some asteroid we passed by during our patrol route before Osman peeled us off. We are far out from Orion's Arm, sir!"

Mark didn't really process what he said, only that they weren't able to get to slipspace. "Get a tactical solar map of the system and recode those wavelengths; I don't care how, just do it, ASAP! Unknown planet is now down for orientation and movement guidance. Target MAC cannon at nearest closing squid. Get me a horn on all free wavelengths, including slipspace, send out an immediate handshake."

The red lights of the emergency alarm rang again. For a brief moment, the sailors still didn't move. Whether it was from fear, doubt in their leader's abilities, or a combination of both would never be known. Whatever stopped them was quickly broken, and once again the crew members readied at action stations. Weapons officer turned on master arms for all weapon systems, and prepped for possible maneuver trajectories in order to avoid precision lasers.

The communications opened up and Mark spoke, "UNSC priority transmission. This is Captain Mark Florence of the United Nations Space Command _Legend After_ to unidentified vessels, remain at a five-thousand klick deck or we will use deadly force-"

"INCOMING! BRACE! BRACE!" Someone yelled.

A pure black and red beam smashed against the hull of the _Legend After_. Photons - or at the least what could possibly be photons - easily passed through the gaps between the controlled atoms contained in the shield. The hull was scarred. The bridge vibrated slightly at the hit. The viewing glass transformed into a painting of outer bright red encircling black colors. Soon, it ceased, bringing back the planet and the explosions, space, and the other UNSC ships.

"Sir, shield is at sixty-four percent, all other systems are online. Hull a bit scathed. Whatever that was, it definitely wasn't low-level light waves," Contradiction reported.

_Christ Jesus, I beg of you to save us from another Great War._

Mark might've felt more confident in a _Halcyon_ -class cruiser. While not exactly technologically advanced or maneuverable, it certainly was able to take a beating.

As he thought about ships, it would've taken hours, depending on where the hell they were, perhaps even years, for the slipspace transmission to make it back to UNSC space. He looked back to the other two ships. They weren't meant to take on a fight like this.

There was only one way.

"Contradiction, tell _Bar Fight_ to go dark _._ Order them to get back to the God's Key and see if it can get back to UNSC space. We have to, or else Humanity will be endangered. Afterwards get the _Shadow Man_ to do the same. Fire the MAC at the squid ship that just hit us! Three repeating rounds."

 _Bar Fight_ and the _Shadow Man_ reoriented themselves towards the God's Key. _To the Right_ completely disappeared as the _Shadow Man_ ignited engines and began its trajectory.

Contradiction nodded, made pinpoint calculations based on the squid's trajectory that would've taken an average human minutes to hours, even with an advanced computer. The _Legend After_ shot one beam of pure yellow light surrounding a six-hundred ton slug at a perfect angle. The MAC round hit the squid dead center where the body spread into six legs. The slug had little effect as it bounced off the thing's shields. The second slug had more success. It punctured the shields of the squid and ripped off three of its bottom tentacles.

But it wasn't dead.

Another beam of yellow light. Hit. Directly at the center point of the squid ship. The bastard's hull exploded in countless areas, turning it into smoldering metal.

The wreckage still traveled with the other squids as they increased speed and velocity. There was a bright blue flash behind the _Legend After_ , directly from the God's Key.

"Sir, _Bar Fight_ is out of scanning range. I think they're through."

_Thank Christ._

The Captain quickly moved on. It looked like the squid's trajectory was closer with the _Shadow Man's_. It was trying to kill the weaker target. Luckily, any small correction in course would kill the entire crew aboard the squid or completely crush them altogether. The _Legend After_ could bounce eastwards using its starboard RCS engines. Then the UNSC ship could reorient itself perpendicular with a MAC trajectory, intercepting the squid. First hit, and the _Legend_ After's front would easily follow it afterwards for the kill.

Mark saw something on the scopes. The squid did move. Despite every physical barrier, the squid readjusted itself, firing a beam of light past the _Legend After_

It hit the _Shadow Man_. The ship, barely able to withstand small arms fire, collapsed immediately. It tore in half, foundations ripped apart. Fire erupted throughout the entire hull, fueled by escaping air.

Mark wasn't even able to figure out if there were any survivors. A moment later the beam turned on them.

More rumbling metals. A screeching sound traveled throughout the bridge.

"Shields down, hull integrity breached! Shit. Reactors are cut off from main engines. We are dead in the water, Captain!" Contradiction reported.

Five minutes? Maybe? That's how long the battle lasted. This entire encounter. He felt the entire ship move forward from its uncontrolled momentum.

Mark looked to the planet, realized there was only one was out of this mess. "Contradiction, fulfill perpendicular alignment to the squid's trajectory, front facing west. We're going to use starboard RCS engines to push the ship towards the planet's gravitational influence and get a closer orbit to readjust later and hook up with the God's Key. Fire everything we have at that bastard!"

Contradiction didn't even respond. Immediately, down became south, east became down and south became west. More pressure was added, smaller breath intake. The ship moved sideways towards the planet.

The squid flew by, triggered off the MAC gun trap. The first round ripped off the top of the squid, the crescent completely engulfed in yellow light. The squid still flew forward with the front of the _Legend After_ following it. Another MAC followed, supported by Archer Pods and fifty millimeter cannon rounds. The squid was utterly destroyed. Mark swore he saw the enemy completely turn around to face their onslaught.

"Cap, gravitational pull caught us. I can't maneuver to get us out. I can only reorient us with the RCS." Contradiction said. He brought up another screen. It shone red, displaying an emergency signal. "Uh… negative. Negative. RCS can't be turned off, there's an error with electrical. I can't fix it from here without a proper repair crew, and we don't have time. Our orbit's decaying right into the ground."

_They were going down._

Mark didn't need to think, "Contradiction, open up another line, all frequencies."

Contradiction followed. The horn was open. Mark spoke, "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is Captain Mark Florence of the UNSC _Legend After,_ transmitting on all UNSC frequencies! We are going down an attack made by an unknown alien force designated as Squids as we made our way through a Forerunner artifact designated as 'God's Key'. Our ship is going down on an unidentified garden world, coordinates, uh…nine by zero by seven by six by one-three. I'm activating protocol Winter Contingency. Cole Protocol will be fully enforced, I repeat, Cole Protocol will be fully enforced."

Mark gripped the railings to the holo-table. "Contradiction, load all escape pods for immediate launch. We need to get everyone out of here!"

"What about you, sir? Or me, the important one?" Contradiction said.

Florence yelled, "You and I will be the last ones out. Once everybody including us has bugged out, initiate Cole Protocol by scuttling the ship."

"Oh, how original," Contradiction frowned, then activated the ship's comms and announced, "This is UNSC AI Contradiction, now hear this! To all UNSC personnel, we are evacuating the _Legend After_. Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Get to any nearby escape pods. Once all escape pods are full, launch immediately! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

Mark took a deep breath as he leaned on the holo-table, watching the ship head towards the world in silence. Minutes passed by as the bridge window began to light up with heat and flame. Smaller breaths, heavier pressure. It became hard to stand, forcing him to sit down on the metal floor.

"Captain, all pods are launched. Bridge crew and a couple other Spartans are aboard," reported Morganson

"Roger that, Ensign. Lauch-"

The ship bounced and fire spread throughout the outer hull as they entered the planet's atmosphere. Continents were partially covered by clouds and black smoke.

"You forgot to inform the Captain that we're in the planet's atmosphere!" Contradiction said.

The ship's systems tried to combat the fall into a gripped the railing harder to prevent himself from falling face forward into the window.

"Looks like we're going down with the ship. Contradiction, plot a landing course," the Captain ordered.

"Sir, yes sir, beginning the descent."

Mark said nothing and only hung onto the railing. The ship repositioned, front facing directly towards the planet at a forty-five degree angle parallel to the surface, flying lower and passing through low level clouds. They flew by miles upon miles of rolling hills with calm winds and green grass.

The scene quickly changed as they flew over a small river connecting to a lake. There was a city at the edge of the water.

He could see below that the city was almost in complete ruins, with every building either destroyed, on the verge of collapse, or ripped to shreds. It looked like an attacked UN city in the middle of bombardment by the Covenant. He could see the exchange of what looked like blue and red streaks of lights on the streets below.

Skirmishes upon the surface it seemed. Mark saw the movement of small transport-like ships as they flew through the buildings.

"We are seventy-five kilometers from the planetary surface. ETA: Damn fast. Hang on and pray to whatever god/gods you believe in!" Contradiction yelled

Mark coughed up a round of blood, responded by calmly taking those short breaths. He couldn't hear anything.

_Orders: Establish full First Contact Procedure and try to file a full threat assessment to High Command and FLEETCOM. Maintain full enforcement of Cole Protocol at any and all costs._

_Destroy: Any hostile threats. Establish guerrilla combat operations with a FOC._

_Priority: Hold out until UNSC evacuation. If they aren't coming, then find a way the hell off this planet._

The green rolling hills neared. The ship flew over what looked like dozens of trenches and foxholes scarring the surface. It nearly missed a small tower near an area of metal structures.

"Incoming!" someone yelled.

"BRACE! BRACE! BRACE!" The captain replied.

Something struck the ship, giving one last twist of its pitch before it came crashing into a rolling hill.

The ship hit the dirt, jolted upwards. Something that hit Mark in the chest. He only saw black.

_Harbinger of your destiny…_


	2. The Race Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the UNSC Legend After was forced down upon the surface of an unknown planet by a hostile entity, the UNSCDF is mobilizing, racing to retrieve any and all survivors and to ensure the enforcement of Cole Protocol by purging any sensitive intel and technology. The Master Chief, still dealing with the loss of Cortana, is forced back into the fight despite Lasky's objections. 
> 
> An unknown ship has crash-landed on Illium after being engaged by the Reapers. The Systems Alliance is the first one to receive the reports. Fully occupied by the Reaper War, the only asset they have to spare to investigate is Commander Shepard and the crew of the SSV Normandy.

**Aboard SSV** _ **Normandy**_ **SR- 2, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 09:05**

It was always the sterile air that hit him at first. After a couple of months you supposedly got used to it but Commander Shepard never really got around to it. Every time he reboarded the ship back from a mission it was like a slap in the face. No smell, no freshness, just recycled.

It was always a strain. And it didn't help that Shepard was physically exhausted after every mission. Not even the constant conditioning and grueling combat scenarios in N1 through N6 and even N7 prepped him for the strains of barely two minutes of combat.

Sometimes he was also mentally and emotionally drained. He wondered how some soldiers could go on barely affected by the similar events Shepard witnessed. How many times he held back in order to strike a deal.

_You cajole and sacrifice until they have someone to follow…_ Liara had said.

At least this time the mission worked out for once in a lifetime, thank Christ. The Geth and Quarians, with the help of Legion and company, were able to broker an alliance against the Reapers. It was going to be rocky, sure. But as long as they aren't killing each other, openly at least, Shepard _tried_ not to care.

But the price was Legion. Another person Shepard couldn't save. _Does this unit have a soul?_ ...Despite the close call with the Quarian fleet, Legion sacrificed himself for his people. Shepard told him to keep uploading the data. What happened if he didn't?

There _could've_ been another way.

...At least his death wasn't in vain.

All Shepard wanted to do at the moment was collapse on his bed and fall asleep. Maybe... He wondered if he would go back to that forest. It wasn't frequent, but the thought that it might appear constantly kept him up.. He didn't talk about it to the crew, for obvious reasons. Well, except for Liara.

The lack of sleep didn't affect his combat ability. The adrenaline set him in line as dark circles formed under his eyes and his skin became rough and uneven. He just wondered how much longer he can keep going like this.

He had to check some stuff anyways. In the CIC, the Commander accessed his computer terminal. It updated him on the casualty lists on every galactic front. Few wounded. The Reapers had no mercy, no concerns, no other goal except the extermination of all life… He breathed in, trying to keep calm. There were some other messages, but they really didn't matter.

He was trying to keep it together. His crew were also in the same boat, keeping it together for the sake of each other. They told him about it, as with the open door policy and, well, since they were friends. At the least, all of them were tired. Christ. They had family. Friends. Shepard didn't have anybody. They were going through absolute hell.

People are suffering a lot worse out there.

He felt dizzy. He needed to talk to someone. He'll head down to Liara's room. Hopefully-

"Commander Shepard, Admiral Hackett is on the QEC. It's urgent." Specialist Traynor reported from her station, nothing in her tone that seemed to be affected by the war at all. She just continued to move screen after screen, typing in word after word.

"Thanks. Just type up a summary report of the Geth and Quarians and send it to the Admiral," Shepard said, a little disappointed.

"I'll give it to EDI. She can type it up faster."

He tried to run there but his legs refused. They were numb, unable to process any major central commands. Soon enough they'll begin to hurt. He had to take another magnesium pill soon to subdue the exhaustion. He was sure that it didn't have any side effects _whatsoever_.

He passed through the security screening to the war room. As usual, the two guards were talking about God knows what. Shepard didn't have the energy to listen. Maybe it was a blessing this time.

He entered the QEC room, pressed the answer button on the console. A blue figure appeared. He was dressed in a Systems Alliance naval uniform along with the standard cover. Admiralty rank was pinned over his heart and his shoulder pads had four bars across them. His face was covered in wrinkles and uneven skin. Bags over depressions were under his eyes, filling the distance between cheekbones. He had a greying goatee and a scar traveling across from his lower right eye to mouth.

Commander Shepard saluted Admiral Steven Hackett, tried his best to be at attention.

"At ease," He said quickly in his gruff and sad voice.

"Admiral, sir," Shepard said.

"Shepard, I just received a rather brief report from Specialist Traynor. She certainly types fast."

Shepard guessed Traynor made EDI say it was her report. "Yes, sir. Both the Geth and Quarians are willing to supply their fleets and whatever ground troops they can spare."

Admiral Hackett only nodded at first. He stayed silent as he brought up another screen. Three objects appeared, "Shepard, you're going to have to give me the report later. There's another pressing matter."

"Sir?" Shepard said, with actual surprise and maybe a peak of curiosity. And maybe a little bit of anger at how easily all the work and sacrifice was dismissed. He felt whatever tiredness he had begun to slip away little by little.

This alliance was the most important thing at the moment. What could be so pressing that Admiral Hackett...merely dismissed three week's worth of work and loss?

"Around twenty-nine minutes ago we received strange reports near Illium. Scattered remnants from the Eighth Fleet were helping defend the planet against Reaper forces. They reported three unidentified vessels enter into the system through the nearby relay."

Shepard looked to the three objects. Each one had a displayed name on their hull, similar to the _Normandy_. The first two ships' names were UNSC _Shadow Man_ and UNSC _Bar Fight_. They were ugly as hell. Tali might disagree, having grown up aboard grey and bulky ships scraped together. They were thin, obviously more concentrated on height than width. They weren't impressive. They had a couple of armaments; a few point-defense lasers and long range batteries.

But the third one however was odd. The UNSC _Legend After_. It was heavily armored with dozens of defense guns and had a hull who knew how thick. Its main battery was a giant hole at the top of the front of the ship. As Shepard observed more and more he noticed there were dozens of smaller holes on each side of all the ships, seemingly jutting out.

Each one had a symbol. It was a menacing black bird of some kind, maybe an Eagle or a Falcon raising its wings in a similar stance to the ancient seal of the United States of America. A shield covered its body as the bird perched defensively over a sphere, most likely a planet, surrounded by a banner with the words 'United Nations Space Command'.

"I've never seen these kinds of ships before. And I can't say I ever heard of the 'United Nations Space Command,'" Shepard said.

"It seems no one else at Alliance command has either. In any other situation this would've been brushed off, classified under 'misinformation' even with scouting reports from dozens of Alliance under the SSV _Cairo_ and Illuim Defense Force ships. But what was in the reports caught our analysts by surprise. The radio transmission that was forwarded to us confirmed our suspicions.

"When the three ships entered the system, they were immediately detected. They were spinning out of control, and only realigned themselves with some rather primitive technology. SSV _Mombasa_ and SSV _Honolulu_ were protecting two Alliance carriers holding hundreds of refugees trying to escape Illium. The three ships were directly in their approach vector. The captain of _Honolulu_ ordered the unidentified vessels to move or be fired upon. They didn't respond. Unfortunately, two Reaper capital ships intercepted them, and destroyed the _Honolulu_ and the evac group only a few minutes later.

"They then turned on the unidentified vessels. The battle only took a couple of minutes. The Reapers engaged, however unlike our ships, the _Legend After_ was able to withstand a direct hit from the Reaper's main cannon. The UNSC _Bar Fight_ after this attack completely disappeared from visual and scanner view. _Cairo_ detected an immediate Relay jump. We can only assume it was the _Bar Fight_. The _Legend After_ counterattacked, firing off three six-hundred ton slugs from its main cannon in succession at a quarter of the speed of light. All three rounds connected, two piercing right through the hull and taking down the first Reaper ship. The other Reaper capital ship easily destroyed the _Shadow Man_ with one shot from its cannon. It then turned on the _Legend After_ , breaking through its shields and severely damaging its hull. The _Legend After_ maneuvered towards the planet at around two-thousand kilometers per minute. It used its main cannon along with pod type missiles and weapons cannons, destroyed the other Reaper, then crash landed on Illium. When it was going down, it played this message in the form of AM and FM frequencies."

Hackett pressed a button on an invisible screen. A young and accent ridden voice began to yell, "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is Captain Mark Florence of the UNSC Legend After, transmitting on all UNSC frequencies! We are going down an attack made by an unknown alien force designated as Squids as we made our way through a Forerunner artifact designated as 'God's Key'. Our ship is going down on an unidentified garden world, coordinates, uh…nine by zero by seven by six by one-three. I'm activating protocol Winter Contingency. Cole Protocol will be fully enforced, I repeat, Cole Protocol will be fully enforced."

_Jesus Christ._

Shepard couldn't say anything…

**Aboard UNSC** _**Infinity** _

**150,000 kilometers over Earth**

**2557 Military Calendar, 09:00**

Three days. Three days ever since.

For three days Master Chief Petty Officer John Sierra-117 only ate, slept, and looked out a hall window along the portside of the UNSC _Infinity_. Earth slowly rotated beneath them, showing Eastern Europe and the Middle East in its awakening from the dark. The globe was surrounded by the hundreds of ships of the UNSCDF fleet along with hundreds of SMAC stations. Sometimes, every once and awhile a ship or a repair cruiser carrying supplies or wreckage from the previous battle flew by.

_Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it._

Those words still echoed in his mind as if she were right there.

But she was gone. She sacrificed her life for his.

_Could you sacrifice me to complete your mission? Could you watch me die?_

He failed his mission.

"Chief?" A very familiar voice said, embedded with kindness and odd enthusiasm.

John turned around to face the tired eyes of Captain Thomas Lasky as he stood next to the entrance of the thin hallway. Small areas of grey hair, and dark circles under his eyes from the experiences during the Great War made him look much older than he really was. The sun of the Sol system landed on Lasky, giving way to his newly assigned uniform with promoted rank and holstered magnum. On top of the uniform was grey body armor and araised left shoulder pad with spinal case.

"Mind if I stand with you? Again?" He asked.

The Chief nodded, still remaining in a hopeless silence. Lasky stood next to him and placed his hands behind his back, quietly observing the planet on the other side of the window.

He spoke, "Europe…Home of the old idea of "Western Civilization." The two terrible wars that lead to the creation of the UNSC. Birthplace of modern day Christianity… my dad's ancestors were from the Middle East though, specifically Israel, living as Conservative Jews. That rubbed off onto my mom, but I'm not sure if I ever believed in it. Mom's ancestors were from Europe. Poland, near the Russian border as Eastern Orthodox Christians."

John wasn't sure why Lasky was telling him this, why he came all the way over here from the bridge.

"Yeah, both families moved to Mars about two hundred years ago? I don't know, it's just amazing we can trace so far back." He looked to the Chief, seeing that it was going nowhere and frowned.

"Well, I obviously didn't come to talk about my family..."

Lasky trailed off. He knew the Chief was listening, it was just… The Chief didn't know why he stopped. He changed topics. "How are you doing?"

He said nothing, still stared at the homeworld of Humanity.

Lasky only nodded, looking out at the homeworld with him. "…It might be too soon, and if you don't want to answer that's okay. But, ONI sanitized your records and tried to quiet it down that you're even alive, but I did some digging. There are a couple of old colleagues of yours that are actually serving on the _Infinity_ right now. Lieutenant Chip Dubbo, Major Marcus Stacker, Major Jake Reynolds? Reynolds is my security chief, Stacker is the head of the few ODSTs I have aboard, including Dubbo."

The Master Chief remembered them. They were a few of the marines that helped him during the final effort of the Great War. It wasn't surprising. Out of the seventeen-thousand crew members of the _Infinity_ , statistically eighty-seven percent of them serving were vets. It was more of a symbol to the public. Heroes that defended Humanity in its darkest hour leading in its brightest "exploration" efforts. They even debated assigning whatever Spartan-IIs were left, but Lord Hood decided that was unnecessary.

At least the number used to be eighty-seven percent. After the Requiem Events, _Infinity_ lost about a fourth of her crew. It would be a hassle to purposely pull out any Great War veterans from their positions all to merely play for the public. And the Chief recently learned there weren't exactly a pool of veterans left. The few military personnel that were left at the end of the War were offered to go home with full pension even if their required years weren't finished.

They got to choose.

As he thought about Requiem he remembered Master Sergeant, now Major Stacker. Stacker helped him push towards the gravity rift on Requiem, but John guessed he didn't process his voice. He just thought it was just some other order from another marine, nothing important to the mission. And the last time he saw Private Dubbo and Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds was on the Ark, which was only less than a month ago (at least to the Chief).

Lasky sighed. There was some wave of relief that seemed to wash over him, "Chief, I have some good news for you. I might get in trouble for saying it, but-"

There was a ringing sound. It was his comm link.

"Excuse me. Priority message from FLEETCOM." Lasky said. He exited the hallway for a brief moment, leaving the Master Chief to think.

The old veterans were here. And they seem perfectly fine.

He thought about Lasky's words in their last meeting. Even though Lasky was a moralistic stigma within the UNSC, odd through and through, he still considered Earth home. Earth didn't feel like home to the Chief. But besides him and a few others ask the vast majority of Humanity and they'll say with confidence that Earth was their main home. And because it was their home Humanity and the UNSC will defend it to their extinction. So he had to too…

_This place will become your home._

_This place will become your tomb._

"-Chief, hey? You're okay, right?" Lasky said, standing next to him. He seemed a little worried, a lot more anxious. "You heard what I said, right? We have to get going."

…

The rest of the crew was brought in on Admiral Hackett's suggestion. Both James and Ashley saluted Hackett as they filed in. Tali didn't even say hi. She didn't act like it but she was instantly drawn towards the three ships. Her glowing eyes moved from one to another. The others were quiet, mostly confused.

Liara looked to him, noticing what was off, "Shepard, are you okay?"

"Talk to Admiral Hackett."

From the way he said it they might've been thinking the worse. Did the Citadel fall? Were the Asari wiped out? Who the hell knows. They were timid to ask Hackett and he responded by telling them the exact same thing he told Shepard: The full report. The defeat of a Reaper capital group at Illium by a unknown force.

And no one said a word for a long time. The humming of the ship became louder. The sterile air dug into Shepard's nose.

"Maybe I should ask the important question that's on everyone's mind," Liara said, moving towards the front of the room. "...Is this first contact?"

Hackett took a moment to respond. "Honestly I don't know. Right now we have perfect examples of perfect English communication. Yet we have never seen this kind of technology before. Advanced, but using primitive spacefaring technology."

"These small little holes across the ship…These aren't what I think they are…are they?" Tali said, voice stunned, void of any sort of enthusiasm.

" _Cairo_ witnessed dozens of smaller engine emissions erupt from all sides of the ship, using them to balance out the force from their main engines or for main propulsion as evident from the flying maneuver past the Reaper. Reaction Control Systems at its finest. Ever since the discovery and usage of Eezo RCS engines and systems became completely obsolete with the use of depression shift." Hackett crossed his arms

Tali looked from the ships. "Wait. Are you saying-"

"Yes. From the quick scan performed by the _Cairo_ 's VI, we are certain that there is no trace of Eezo or dark energy of any sorts aboard those ships.

"A ship like the _Legend After_? It's almost impossible to think how much Eezo would be required to run it," Hackett continued, not even giving the courtesy for Shepard and his crew to process the news. "However, the _Legend After_ is around a kilometer and a half long length wise, larger than most of our dreadnaughts. And, obviously, they can pack a larger punch than anything we can manage."

It took almost everything the Alliance and Citadel Security Force had to eliminate one Reaper capital ship. It took half of the Qurian flotilla to successfully bombard a single unimportant Reaper destroyer. This ship, the _Legend After_ by itself destroyed two capital ships paying with its life. That was… almost impossible to believe. Three strikes from its main cannon, whatever the hell it was, tore the Reaper to pieces.

And no Eezo. Almost everything within the galaxy ran on Eezo. For countless years scientists tried to find an alternative with no prevail. And this…new species or organization or whoever they were found that alternative?

It just couldn't be. Eezo use in a ship is exponential according to the size of the ship. Using conventional electricity, even alternate or nuclear fusion, would require power that could supply an entire planet for centuries.

"What?" Tali asked, even more surprised than the rest. "Th…How? We've become so dependent on Eezo it's become basic law. How did they even get through a Relay without Prothean technology to influence them? Or Eezo to make the trip for that matter?"

Hackett sighed. "We don't know. Our scientists are trying to study all the information we acquired, and so far they've made as much progress as you have. This is why we can't say if this is first contact or not with such contradictory evidence. But...to support the first contact theory, take the FM signals. We picked up their transmissions on the FM. They obviously had no idea what was going on and tried every way to contact us. And these messages were mostly about staying the hell away or be fired upon. The ship transmissions they sent to each other however was through an unidentified encrypted channel, which we can't even begin to crack."

Shepard turned to Liara, "if this was some organization you would know about it, right?"

She nodded. "I've been researching ever since Hackett explained. Nothing matches in my databases... Except for the UNSC. The United Nations of Earth back in humanity's early efforts to unite itself. It collapsed however with the rise and gaining popularity of the Systems Alliance. But I doubt that it's the same ones. The Systems Alliance would definitely know about it. The only piece of evidence that makes us unsure at this moment, is of course, the English. They can't translate an entire language in the span of five minutes unless they had contact with us before or were watching us from afar." She opened up her Omni-tool, shifting through various orange notes on the data tool

"With those invisible ships, it may be possible for covert recon with absolutely no scanner or visual view. It makes it even easier without any Eezo emissions. How many of those ships do you think are around the Citadel, say?" Tali said.

"Okay, well, I'm no scientist or ship technician," Garrus said, "but maybe we should talk about the crash landing message. Aliens? Designated as squids? They had no idea who the Reapers are. And what can be said about this Forerunner artifact?

"Designated as God's Key?" Liara said. "They recently discovered this artifact? Wouldn't this contradict the theory they have always been watching us? They couldn't travel from system to system, not without the Relays."

"What's the assessment of their capabilities?" Shepard said, interrupting the three.

"We can't tell a lot from a two minute battle, but I can say the _Legend After_ is a damn fine ship. Their shields are evidently a lot stronger than ours along with their main cannon. As for maneuverability and speed, they're about the same as our dreadnaughts if not a little less maneuverable. For now we're still processing all capabilities.

"But for the moment we can all agree there are still a lot of unanswered questions."

Yeah. The only semi-solid thing they had on these guys was a captain named Mark Florence. His name, along with his voice, sounded human. Then again it could be a translator of some sorts with a copied off name. But what was Cole Protocol? Winter Contingency? He made a lot of effort to include those two things, and from the way he worded it it almost sounded like a duty.

"And I can assume you want us to answer them?" Shepard said.

"Correct. From reports, the UNSC _Legend After_ went down eighteen miles outside Nos Astra mostly intact. Escape pods are spread throughout the entire region. We don't know if there are any survivors at the crash site at this moment. Reaper forces are currently heading towards the ship's position. Shepard, I want you to take a ground team to the planet. Your first objective is that ship. Evacuate any survivors if you can, then secondary objective is to scavenge and recover any technology and information. Then move on to the escape pods. We don't know how many people these pods can hold, so it would be wise to have the _Normandy_ on standby to make round trips. But your main priority however, if possible, is to try to convince whoever these people are to join our fight against the Reapers."

"Then, sir… This sounds a lot like first contact." Shepard said, already knowing the answer.

"You tell me, Commander." Hackett responded, knowing too.

Shepard remained silent.

"Does the Council know about this?" Liara said.

"For the moment, no. But soon enough the Council will find out. Alliance assets immediately contacted me with this report. I assume Illium Security Forces sent reports to the Citadel, but it would just be white noise. The Council receives hundreds of reports every day. Hell, they might've received a full assessment but classified it as misinformation. But it was me or the Council, the only asset we have to spare is you, Commander."

With stretching resources and men the only few available resources to deploy on multi-role combat operations are Shepard and his squad, and some Specter forces. Not a single fleet or ground division was left to spare. The Council tried to keep it very hushed for the public's sake.

"If they're uncooperative?" Shepard sasked..

"I have faith you'll somehow convince them," Hackett said.

Shepard couldn't help but get slightly frustrated with the little support from Hackett. _Somehow convince them?_ It was already a hard road to convince an already known species or organization to join them. How the hell was he going to do that with something he had never seen before?

"…If they're hostile…?" Liara asked, leaning forward on the rail.

Jesus Christ. Shepard didn't even want to begin thinking of that possibility.

"Then you know what to do… But I sure hope that isn't true. Especially with those kind of ships. We already have our plate full with the Reapers."

"Sir, it's unlikely their people would just abandon them. What if they come looking for them?" She asked.

"If they don't come take them to the Citadel. If they do, give them back any survivors you obtained and try to establish peaceful relationships, bring them back to the Council if you can. There, we may be able to form something 'official' to help fend off the Reapers. If they refuse to fight though… It'll only be a matter of time before the Reapers turn on them."

"Will we receive any support?" Shepard said.

"No. ISF and local Alliance forces are spread thin. You're on your own."

A moment of silence before Hackett finished. "Any other questions?"

Everyone had a million questions. But everyone knew Hackett couldn't answer them. Or maybe they just didn't want them answered.

"Shepard, I know I'm sending you and your crew into the unknown but we don't have time for recon because of the Reapers. Despite all this, I have faith in your abilities. Get to that ship and get to those survivors, if any. I want a complete report once your mission is completed. Hackett out." With that, his hologram walked away, disappeared and deactivated the QEC.

Another silence. Shepard finally broke it, "Joker, set a course to Illium."

The Commander turned to the crew, with all but Liara and Tali looking to him as if he held the key for solving the mystery.

"So, assuming our luck and track record, all things are going to hell, right?" He said to try and lighten the mood.

"Ha, you actually thought things were going to go right?" Ashley said, smiling for once since the meeting began. "Are we at this point going to assume this is just an "organization" like the Alliance or like Cerberus?"

"Well, if they are first contact how did they find a Relay? I thought ships needed Eezo or Prothean tech to find and go through it," Garrus said.

"Eezo is constructed from dark energy. The…Reapers," Liara forced herself to speak the names of the true creators, "place the Eezo in the Relay to have a lesser effect with gravity pull, thus making it almost invisible relatively. Most astronomers or astrophysics would've dismissed it as a black hole or even a small asteroid, since Eezo properties tend to have a singularity effect. But if the Relay is activated the Eezo within the structure would've caused a massive density flux, again very similar to a black hole or binary black hole, which somebody might accidentally read it as… I won't go into detail, but the dark energy's mass effect doesn't necessarily have to be on a ship that possesses Eezo, it just has to surround it."

"But if they found it without Prothean technology then somebody went and signaled them to come to us. Otherwise Garrus is right, they wouldn't have found it," She continued. "Unless maybe they did discovered a Prothean cache and had no use for its technology."

"They were suddenly attacked during an exploration effort. You think this attack will make them more prone to hostilities?" Shepard said, feeling the correlation to the First Contact War. An unknown war between two species ending peacefully, thank God.

"Undoubtedly-" The Asari began.

"About their technology..." Tali interrupted, trying to hide hints of excitement. "If we can scavenge any technology we can, reverse engineer it…Keelah, imagine what we would learn, what we can apply to our own ships. Then… refueling stations would become obsolete. And if we held the strength of their shields and weapons…" Tali ended off so soon, overwhelmed with the infinite possibilities.

Shepard nodded. "Right... Remember, first priority is to evac any survivors. Technology is all secondary. If we convince these contacts to align with us then they can help us win. I'd rather have that than spending time reverse engineering technology and spending God knows how many credits applying it to our ships while people are dying.

"Either way, can this possibly be a one of a kind ship?"

"Maybe… Really, we can't say. The Turians have about…used to have about thirty-seven dreadnaught,." Tali said. "With the large size of this ship, especially without Eezo, I would guess they would only have a handful. Possibly even this only one."

Oddly enough, that was both relieving and troubling at the same time. Reliving whereas these people only have a handful of dreadnaughts. Troubling, where they _wouldn't have that many_ ships to help fight against the Reaper.

"Commander," Garrus said. "I think it would be best to send the two experts with you."

"Experts would be a misused term." Liara said. "But I guess I'm the closest thing we have so hopefully I can have a better understanding of this new species/organization.

"If we meet any of them, Citadel protocol usually doesn't work well unless we have power. Their ship was almost a kilometer and a half long, who knows how many crew members it carried. But, to show our respect we should probably not unholster our weapons, and try to act…as kindly as possible." Liara lingered on those words, possibly wondering herself what that exactly means. "If they can speak Standard English then there should be no problem with communication, and tensions should ease, slightly at least. If all doesn't end up well, I could try melding with one of the survivors to quickly learn their language and some other important notes."

"Wait, you mean the kind of melding when you…" James began.

"No James, not that kind of melding," Liara responded in a patronizing way drowned in mockery.

"Sorry, that's the only kind of melding I heard of."

"There are different kinds of melding. You and everybody else in the galaxy are thinking of the melding you do when-"

"I think this is a discussion for another time, hmm?" Shepard interrupted.

"Shepard, you should bring me along to…Yes, partially because I want to observe anything and everything they have. But you don't know what's aboard that thing," Tali said. "I can try to access their systems, read through databases and unlock a locked door every once and awhile. I'll admit it's going to be more difficult than usual since their computers don't run on Eezo. It'll take some time to recode and make my Omni-tool and VI compatible; however it'll get me a good look at how their technology works."

"Okay, we're all in agreement. Tali and Liara will be the first ones with me to meet…this First Contact. We'll be at Illium in about a few minutes. Get to the armory and suit up," Shepard ordered.

So much for sleep. Shepard will live. How long is a-whole-nother question.

…

Like that day five years ago aboard the Orbital Defense Platform _Cairo_ crew members stood at attention at their stations, surrounding the main stage with the large tactical computer screen. Forming around the main door were the one-hundred-sixteen admirals and generals of UNSC HIGHCOM, each one lined up and giving way to the thirty-six fleet admirals of Humanity. Everyone wore the standard black uniform similar to Lasky's.

A single figure stood on the stage. He wore the traditional white naval uniform along with a cover imprinted with the traditional symbol of the navy. Medals were dressed over his heart and the rank of fleet admiral on the shoulder of his uniform. He was a bald, aging man with a grim face void of any emotion. Wrinkles and sternness were spread everywhere. His eyes remained calm, turned to Captain Lasky and the Master Chief.

Lord Hood and HIGHCOM didn't say anything. They only saluted as they two walked down towards the stage.

"ATTENTION ON DECK," One of the fleet admirals yelled.

Captain Lasky tried to ignore the dozens of high ranking commanders saluting _them_. It was a silent walk to the main stage. Once Lasky and the Chief reached the center,, they both returned the salute to Lord Hood.

"At ease," He said, returning the salute.. He turned towards the Master Chief. "Gentlemen, it's good to have you back."

If Lord Hood really meant it Lasky couldn't see it, or hear it for that matter.

Lord Hood nodded to the other HIGHCOM members, who disembarked from the formal formation and turned towards the main tactical screen.

"Master Chief? How are you, son?" Lord Hood said to the Spartan. The Chief towered over him by about a foot.

"Green, sir." He quietly said.

"Admiral, sir. I heard this meeting was urgent?" Lasky said.

"Yes, Captain. I apologize for the sudden notice but this is a matter of Humanity's security."

Lasky nodded, understanding that nothing was seemingly more important. The Master Chief didn't say another word as the two of them stood to the side of the stage and let Lord Hood have the floor.

Lord Hood looked to the officers. He eyed Admiral Osman. Lasky could tell, since she was the only prominent snake in the grass within the particular group.

"A few days ago we along with the Swords of Sangheiliosl discovered another Halo Ring," Lord Hood began. "One day after the Halo's discovery the Elites' scanners picked up an unknown beacon signature, origins at a massive gravitational depression containing this artifact."

The tactical screen displayed a strange object. Two encircling rings at the base and two jutting metal beams that pointed in an unknown direction.

"This artifact, codenamed God's Key is nothing impressive. It's fifteen klicks in length and five klicks in height. Yet the Forerunner design was something of an add-on to an unknown source, at least this is what the scientists analyzed based on previous Forerunner architecture."

An add-on? Forerunners create purely off their own designs while Humanity built upon them. They built off of someone else this time? Who?

Hood continued. "That's why only thirty-three minutes ago we sent three vanguard vessels to study and learn what this artifact is and its purpose. The ships are research vessel _Shadow Man_ , Black Cat Prowler _Bar Fight_ , and _Autumn_ -class cruiser _Legend After_ as acting chief security vessel. The ships were provided over watch by the Fleet of Retribution and the _Shadow of Intent._ The hard deck was set to seven kilometers with suggested minimum distance at ten kilometers. When the _Legend After_ passed the suggested distance edging on the enforced deck, something happened."

The Elites were trustworthy…at least in Lasky's point of view. But HIGHCOM and ONI had to rush in order to what? Make sure the Elites didn't learn more about the artifact first, even though they'll eventually find out? To Lasky, it sounded like something ONI and Admiral Osman would do, not Lord Hood. Lord Hood wouldn't risk it. He wanted a stable relationship despite the disagreements within ONI and some others in HIGHCOM.

The battle screen motioned forward, showing a momentary display of the Key rings encircling each other with increasing speed up to one-hundred revolutions per minute. It then showed the complete disappearance of all three ships.

"Elite scouts report heavy radiation and gravitational anomalies indicating pull in relations to a binary black hole. We identified this is not a black hole or the common use of slipspace. What our scientists "guess" is this artifact in some way manipulates dark energy, thus affecting the gravity of an object. _Possibly_. The artifact seemed to propel them forward without recoil force upon the artifact.

"Two minutes ago, Black Cat Prowler _Bar Fight_ returned to UN space from the God's Key, reporting even more findings."

Lord Hood removed the representation of the God's Key, replacing it with the image of a planet and….

Lord Hood motioned his hand toward the screen. "First Contact. Hostile."

Two images of two types of ships appeared, built by completely different species. One design looked similar to that of the UNSC's. The other…

"Yes. It is confirmed this is first contact, people," Hood interrupted through the silence. "The _Bar Fight_ 's AI identified the planet as a habitable garden world, and that planet along with the alien ship designs match nothing within the known databases. From the state of the planet and the combat between these two identified fundamental ship designs confirm a state of war between these two groups of aliens. And from the severe damages to the planet with hundreds of towns and cities under siege like a Covenant glassing we can confirm that they have found and colonized numerous planets… Unless they're warlike beyond expectations, even beyond the Brutes, to destroy their only planet.

" _Bar Fight_ reports that they were attacked by this ship design," He pointed to the second design. "Two ships supported by smaller battle ships engaged. As expected UNSC transmissions didn't respond to their communication systems. The AI reported that wavelengths were being received in the form of gravitational depressions. The AIs did send out handshake signals through FM and other wavelength signals. But whether or not they received the message is unknown. These ships, colloquially designated as 'squids', engaged the UNSC _Legend_ After. The head security chief and acting captain of the _Legend After_ Captain Mark Florence ordered the _Bar Fight_ to find a way back to UNSC space through a similar God's Key they found on the other side."

Another engagement with a hostile race would possibly put Humanity again on the brink of destruction. Humanity was almost wiped out from the War only five years ago, and if another threat of the galaxy dared raised its head against them….

_God, don't let it be another Great War._

Humanity barely survived once. And it was mostly because of John. If they... If they were hostile, and they began to attack the colonies...

Lasky looked at the ships. Two species. One with a ship so menacing it's something straight out of a video game. The other one however…had no contact with the vanguard group.

Lasky looked around to the others in the room to observe their reactions. Nothing passed over their faces except for the wave of sullenness that always seemed to carve itself in the eyes of leadership. However, Lasky noticed a few of them shifting their weight, slightly rocking back and forth.

"There was no further contact with the _Legend After_ or the _Shadow Man_." Lord Hood said. "If the _Legend After_ and the _Shadow Man_ crash landed on the planet then we can assume both captains followed military law and initiated Cole Protocol. Yet, we _cannot_ risk assuming that Cole Protocol was enforced. As all of you are aware this alien species has committed acts of war against the UNSC and Humanity by attacking those ships.

"I understand that it would be strategically wise to send out recon teams to assess the enemy but time is a factor. What we know from the _Bar Fight_ is that these squids maneuvered at speeds unmatched by any of our ships. And judging from those tentacles we should expect CQC engagement. But these squids' weapons are outfitted for long range attack. The _Legend After_ was hit multiple times from their main cannon at speeds much faster than our MAC cannons. It's safe to assume Captain Florence enforced the same long range assault tactics used against the Covenant during the Great War. Whereas that might work I suggest for constant adjustment maneuvering. Maintain distance from these ships and keep it that way. Our ships' strong suit and outfit is long range interstellar tactics, not close range knife fights."

Lord Hood was already advising on tactics. That meant only one thing…

We were going to war.

"However, our ships won't be the first into the breach. Shipmaster 'Vadum's Fleet of Retribution is already standing by. In response to this event, they've called upon the Arbiter to assist with matters. From AI calculations it'll take four hours for our battle groups to reach the God's Key. That is time I'm not willing to lose. I'm sending in the Elites to retrieve any and all Human survivors.

"For our combat group, task priority one is to ensure Cole Protocol is fully enforced by destroying all vulnerable intel. Battle Group Dakota accompanied by the Ninth Fleet led by the UNSC _Infinity_ under Captain Thomas Lasky will be the first ones in. Admiral Alvares," Lord Hood looked to the fleet admiral of the Ninth. "You have control of the fleet; Lasky will control the battle group. Admiral, you are to establish a foothold around the Key. Lasky, you are authorized with complete operational freedom in tactics on both the ground and in space as you see fit to fill out priority one. Alvares, I want a ship going in and out of the Key on fifteen-minute interval updates.

"Once this objective is completed, Captain Lasky, you are to establish footholds on the planet if possible and advance territorial control. Admiral Alvares, hold position from there until my arrival with the Tenth and Twelfth. Fleet Admiral Jay Harper will take command of the UNSCDF in my absence

"If the enemy's capabilities prove to be beyond ours then you are ordered to eliminate any UNSC artifacts in the systems at _any and all costs._ Then you are to evacuate to the God's Key and retreat. On the other side near the Ring, we will destroy the Key to ensure these aliens will never find their way towards Earth and prepare for colonial and homeworld defense. But gentlemen, these new contacts are a threat to Humanity, and must be eliminated before they find our habitable worlds.

"Any questions?"

Lord Hood maintained his hands behind his back and waited for responses.

"Admiral, sir." Fleet admiral of the twenty-first began,"I thought Captain Lasky was to lead the opening Requiem front?"

"Lasky is commissioned with the lead of the _Infinity_. And with an unknown alien force we need to show the enemy the true superiority of the UNSC. Or, if this unknown life form is superior to us then we need our best ships to hold them off. Fleet Admiral Rebekah Takeda of the Fifth Fleet will take over as director of operations on the opening Requiem front."

"The Elites, sir? Can we really trust them to run a joint operation? As well as evacuating Human survivors?" Another admiral said.

"Even though our relationship is rocky, they _can be_ trusted. While I understand all of your…opinions on the matter we need them for the time being not only for this event, but to also find the remnants of the remaining loyal Covenant and their home worlds."

"Sir? Why didn't the _Legend After_ send a distress signal through the E-Band?" A general asked.

" _Bar Fight_ reports the God's Key transported them to an unidentified location. The AI performed mathematical analysts and confirmed the location was out of the Orion Arm, thus making it impossible to connect to a UN radio beacon. Even if they sent a radio burst it would take thousands of years to reach us."

Out of Orion Arm. How is it possible this artifact transported them almost thousands of light years in regular space? They would have to be traveling faster than light. That's impossible, defying the foundations of physics set up by Einstein. They weren't killed in the process? No kinetic momentum that would've taken possibly centuries to decelerate from?

"And, Admiral, sir. Should all xeno life be considered hostile?" The same general said.

"All alien life is to be considered and treated as hostile. Any and all aliens that interfere with the United Nations Space Command are to be eliminated with extreme prejudice. Nuclear weapons and in-atmosphere MAC use on planetary surface are authorized."

Lord Hood's words seemed to reign down forever. Captain Lasky looked again to the diagrams of the ship designs displayed on the battle screens, and then spoke.

"Admiral? We've confirmed two ship designs thus possibly two types of alien life forms. Only one ship design engaged UN ships while the other did not have definite contact. What if in the event the other life form proves friendly to the UNSC?"

Everyone immediately turned from Lord Hood to Captain Lasky. No one said a word. Each one seemed perplexed by the proposition. Lord Hood also turned towards him, facing away from the tactical board and the crowd.

And it seemed a long awkward silence arose before he spoke, "in the event of friendly contact, maintain Cole Protocol and keep your distance. Do not engage unless fired upon. You are not to intervene in their affairs until reinforcements arrive after you complete the first and second objective. If necessary, I will arrive there myself for further diplomatic arrangements.

"Then it is: All squid contacts are to be considered hostile and to be eliminated. This other ship design that belongs to whatever race, are to not be fired upon unless they fire first. Initiate First Contact Protocol in the event if there is premature contact."

"Sir. What ground forces will I be receiving?" Lasky said.

"In the possibility of AA defense platforms on the planet, I'm dispatching the 19th ODST Battalion under command of Lieutenant Colonel Edward Buck and XO Major Jonathan Cortez. As for the _Infinity_ 's security team, I'll let you decide who should get R and R for the time being and resupply men and materials wherever you need them before you ship out.

"In the event of specialized missions, I'm placing the Master Chief under your command. No other Spartan-IIs are available at the moment with them spread across the galaxy. We need a Spartan-II present, especially against a threat like this."

No... The Master Chief can't be immediately redeployed, not after something like this. He just lost Cortana. Lord Hood knows the importance of her. What the hell is he doing?

"Any other questions?" Lord Hood said, seeing nobody else spoke up. "Gentlemen, we are now on full alert at DEFCON 3 for full mobilization within zero notice. Report to action stations on standby immediately. Full situational reports will be sent every hour.

"Dismissed."

With that, HIGHCOM began to shuffle out back to Sydney or to their respective fleet. A brief meeting for such a relatively 'brief' event. Lord Hood told both Lasky and the Chief to wait for a moment as he stepped toward the crowd. Admiral Osman seemed to be waiting for him.

From observation afar she remained respectful to the officer who could permanently silence her at any moment. Osman saluted Hood, who nodded at ease.

She spoke in a hostile tone, at least from what Lasky could tell.. Despite the signs to withhold Lasky stepped down from the stage towards the two.. He told the Master Chief to stay there, feeling guilty as he said it. As he walked he realized something. Lord Hood never mentioned a word of the Office's activities in the new incident. They would've played a major role in the development and processing of intelligence on the first contacts; in fact Lord Hood shouldn't have been the one to relay this information, it should've been Admiral Osman.

"-miral Osman, this is an assigned target for High Command. Our specialized team will handle it. For now, you and the rest of ONI command _will_ return to Sydney under _my_ direct orders. And get this through now: ONI is now under my direct authority, from every little hidden surveillance agent you have aboard our ships, to your Spartan secret operators, to your office janitors. Do you understand, Admiral?" Hood said loud enough for Lasky to hear as he got closer. Lord Hood permitted whatever emotion need be to relay the message across

Lasky approached the two. The two admirals turned their attention to him. The captain stood at attention but Hood quickly told him at ease. Osman looked relieved, unfortunately.

"Captain Lasky, I wish you luck on your mission. Those men trapped on that world are depending on you and the Elites. But…I know you'll do well. Your mother would be proud... Watch your back out there." Osman simply said, turning to the doors and quickly heading back to Sydney.

Lasky nodded, saying thanks to her and letting her go without any objection. Seemingly like everyone's dead family members, Brigadier General Lasky died during the ending of the War. She was commander of the Marine ground forces in Voi.

Captain Lasky faced Lord Hood. "Since when did she care for the lives of other Humans?"

"Captain Lasky, I didn't have time to congratulate you on your promotion." Hood said, ignoring his comment. "You control the most advanced ship Humanity has ever built. Believe it or not, that control comes with a lot of power. So much so, the Admiralty has elected you as the one-hundred-seventeenth of UNSC High Command. I also didn't inform you that Captain Del Rio has been stripped of his rank and commission today."

Lord Hood said it so casually it caught Captain Lasky off guard. It wasn't a lie, Lasky wasn't fond of Captain Del Rio. Age and arrogance placed him as a faulty leader. But… he only did what he thought was right, to save his crew. Yes,Lasky will never forgive him for leaving the Chief behind, but in the end it was for protocol.

"If I hadn't known already what cooperation do you need with me for the Chief?" Lord Hood said.

Lasky wasn't surprised he knew,"sir, you read the psychological reports of the Chief compiled by ONI. And you damn sure know what we found in the wreckage will help him."

Hood nodded, looked over to the Chief who stood perfectly still. It was frightening to watch the Spartan in this catatonic state. Lord Hood walked towards the Chief. Lasky followed him.

Once they both entered onto the stage Lord Hood saluted him and the Chief saluted back.

"Master Chief. I'm sorry for the quick reintroduction back to the UNSC." Hood said as he shook the Chief's hand.

"Sir."

Hood nodded, almost sympathetic. "I read the report on Requiem. Cortana was a great asset, for both you and the United Nations. I understand her death isn't easy for you, but you must understand Humanity is in danger right now. We need everyone we have at this moment."

There was a long moment of silence from the Chief. "I understand, sir."

Understand? At times Lasky didn't think Lord Hood or anybody else for that matter understood the Chief's condition. Hell, not even Lasky understood. But there has to be a point where Lord Hood realizes he didn't save Earth for Humanity or the UNSC, he saved it so Cortana could have a chance.

At least that's how Lasky saw it...

" _We_ need you." Lord Hood sighed. "I wanted to withhold this information from you until we have a direct plan. But, we believe our scavenger teams have found something within the Didact's ship ruins. I'll let Captain Lasky fill you in on it.

" _Later_. The UNSC _Infinity_ needs to close up shop in forty-five minutes in order to make the deadline. Report to your ship. There Lasky will tell you."

That was an elaborate way to tell the Master Chief to go. Why even bring him here in the first place? Lasky could've easily left the Chief, partake in this meeting, then inform him afterwards. Why did he even need to be here? To raise the morale of HIGHCOM that their most vital _asset_ was back and in action?

Idiotic beyond belief. Despite the vast intelligence built upon years and years of historical wisdom and removed of any bureaucratic, democratic or any sort of political incompetence, HIGHCOM was still Human. They didn't understand the problems going on here. How could they? The UNSC was built upon the foundation of first dedication to Earth and Humanity.

Again, another long moment. "Yes, sir."

With that, the Master Chief didn't even salute. He exited the stage and walked out the main entrance towards the hangar.

Lasky wondered if the crowds would bother him again. When they were walking through dozens of people did double takes, wondering if they saw who they really saw. They talked among themselves, arguing whether the leaks and rumors were true or if he was supposed to be dead.

"Sir, you aren't going to tell him?" Lasky said. "Why even bring him here?"

"I was the only one present to coordinate the defenses during the battle against the Didact while the rest of HIGHCOM was planetside. They wanted to see him for themselves. Admiral Osman classified the Requiem Events even from them."

So was that the conversation between him and Osman about? Still though, he was the supreme commander; a strong one at that too. He should've told them to screw off.

"As for the other question, it would be better coming from you I personally believe. He trusts you."

"But, sir, you're still pushing him out on the field. What the hell am I going to say to him?"

Again, he nodded in understanding before speaking, "Before I answer let me ask you, Captain, you know the Master Chief better than anybody else besides Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and Cortana, who are now gone. Without Cortana what do _you_ believe will happen?"

Lasky took a moment, reviewing thought after thought and report after report. "The Master Chief grew a strong emotional attachment to Cortana over the years. Now with her gone he pretty much has nothing left. Mendez and Halsey indoctrinated them pretty well with all the Spartan teamwork doctrine but barely glanced at UNSC doctrines and objectives. They...just follow orders, sir. Deep down.… they only look out for each other."

And in Lasky's opinion it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He continued, "I _suggest_ we just keep him here, for the time being. Maybe give him some psych evaluation."

"To ensure he doesn't go AWOL?" Lord Hood said. "To say the least, is there a way for the time being to keep his mind off Cortana and to stop questioning orders?"

"What? Sir, with all due respect with everything John went through, there isn't exactly a going back option. There's no restart, no checkpoint to respawn from. Besides, sir, he's a Human being in the end, not some robotic machine like many people believe he is or some perfect soldier. For God's sake, after all this, _all_ he's done, you're putting him back on the field? I wanted him to gain back what was left, gain back Cortana somehow, _so he can live the rest of his life in peace_. We have enough heroes now, sir."

"As much as you hate to admit it, Humanity needs the Master Chief and the Spartan-IIs. These Spartan-IVs are nothing near the Spartan-IIIs, and the IIIs are regular grunts compared to the IIs. The Didact proved three days ago we are still at our weakest despite the numerous technological upgrades throughout our fleets that now match us to the Covenant. All of our combined defense fleets stood no match against a single Forerunner ship, and the only one who saved us was-"

"The Master Chief, sir." Lasky replied in sullenness. "I know."

"Now he's one of the last few surviving Spartan-IIs and IIIs. He's better than the best of the best. He needs to serve. And, Lasky, you're correct. Mendez and Halsey glanced over UNSC indoctrination, so a minor fault in orders can have catastrophic proportions. That was overlooked. But they made it easily _fixable._ If he's…fixed, what do you think will happen? You're just pushing for the Chief to get back into the field too whether you know it or not."

Lasky didn't respond, looking down at his black boots. He never thought about it, but HIGHCOM would never let the Master Chief go this easy. Yet all he himself wanted was the Chief to, well, to not travel the path of desolation so many have rotted down before. Prelude to the destruction of himself installed by Doctor Halsey those so many years ago. On a whisper who knows the lengths he'll take in order to bring her back.

"Sir, in his state right now, I'm not even sure if he'll follow my orders, or anyone's for that matters. Through the digital boxes in his suit we know Cortana spoke some very…non-programmed words to say at the least. Beyond a doubt maybe not now but overtime the Chief's mind will…corrode to Cortana's side, maybe even consider the Didact's words." Lasky said, revealing tactical instability vainly shrouding last attempts to convince the Admiral.

"Walk with me, Captain." Hood said, guiding Lasky. Both entered the hallway, with a clear view of Earth.

The reflection of the sun painted their faces and left their lower bodies and the floor in shadow. Lord Hood kept his entire attention to the homeworld.

"Captain, Humanity has proven time and time again that chosen individuals must sacrifice everything he or she has in order for others to live on. That is a part of war. And war never changes. Humanity sacrificed many of their freedoms in order for us to survive. Humanity now is nowhere near close from extinction, yet once it's safely away from its grasps then the UNSC can finally release control knowing we have completed our assignment given to us by the UEG almost thirty years ago."

"I know, sir. Hard to think it was only three decades ago." Lasky said, more or less lightening the mood for himself at least.

"We must fight in the dark so others shall never have to." Hood said, ignoring Lasky. "We, as soldiers, are Humans who _chose_ to sacrifice everything we have, including our personal freedom, and at times the freedom of others so thousands of years later when you and I are long dead Humanity is spread on thousands of colony worlds, safe, when the name UNSC is now tainted with the atrocities we had to commit in order for those decedents to be there, we will know proudly we served our duties. Neither you or I, or the Chief, are given the luxuries that others are given. And that's our jobs. We kill so others never have to, we commit atrocities so others never have to, and we put our feet on the line knowing we may not be here tomorrow so others shall never have to. The Master Chief never made a choice; ultimately "fate", "God", chose him fit for service. Yet what he suffers through now, no one afterward shall ever go through."

Lord Hood paused for a moment. Germany and France rotated into view. "Captain, take note that _nobody_ takes John's service to Humanity for granted. Without him none of us would be standing in this room today. None of those generations decades later can look back and shake their head in disgust at the Spartan Program.

"We're now facing a new threat after we defeated another one. And the Chief is the only one able to defeat these threats. I believe he's still fit for service. He trusts you, especially after everything you've done. And if I'm wrong, well… I know he'll do what's necessary. For Cortana. Despite Admiral Osman, the HIGHCOM board along with the full support of the Navy is willing to do whatever it takes to have John back to full strength. Even if this "indoctrination" is morally wrong."

Lasky already knew the information Hood relayed, already built into most minds of UNSC personnel. The UNSC is the only thing standing between Humanity and destruction, and they'll do whatever it takes to ensure Humanity is safe at _any_ and all costs. Whether this was true or something else seemed to blur with Lasky as the days passed by. A blur whether it's only for power or actual duty to the final words of the UEG before their nullification and disbandment.

"With respect sir, it _is_ brainwashing." Lasky responded.

"Whatever it was, Humanity at that time was desperate."

"I know, sir. But when will the day come that we can release soldiers like John? How will we know when we're safe?"

"We'll know when we can take care of ourselves without the intervention of the Master Chief. The generations after us will give homage to the Chief. Sympathy perhaps for what he was forced to sacrifice, for what others sacrificed for him to become the soldier Humanity needed him to be."

Lasky didn't respond, looked out onto home. The birthplace of those billions of peoples throughout Orion's Arm. A sanctuary of violence, instability, and otherwise disgust before the rise of the UEG, the CMA, and most importantly the UNSC. Those two other organizations were gone now. Only the UNSC was left. Still, this world and her people have seen so much blood, combat, insecurity…and in those final days of the War, the worst it has ever gotten, hopelessness. only a few years later did these same people journey once more unto the breach..

_The soldier Humanity needed him to be._ And the Chief didn't need to say a word. The world shall speak for him. If Lasky had to guess that would be the phrase Humanity would use to describe John about a thousand years later to some class of kids who don't have to care. Or more likely, they'll forget the context of the situation as most people have with history. They had almighty hindsight, they'll be going on and on how _they could've done it differently_ , or _they didn't need to do this. There could've been another way._

And hell, maybe they were right.

"Aye, aye, Admiral." Lasky said, looking at home.

…

"How long until our agents reach the location?"

"Approximately an hour. I'm sure you read the compilation reports?"

"Indeed. They sure make quite an entrance. No doubt Shepard and whoever else the Council can scrape up are already on their way."

"And in the event if they align with him?"

"That could be a possibility. But our ideals are too similar…too correlating. They'll see our side."

"My teams are ready now and I'll be off to the location. Any last orders, sir?"

"Yes; I know Shepard will no doubt interfere in your affairs, but do not engage. It'll worsen relationships. Yet I understand time is purely of the matter, making this operation the most dangerous one you've taken so far."

"I understand, sir."

"If you can't make this work then pull back with everyone else immediately. Their alliance is not needed in the event."

"Sir?"

"At this point their allegiance is unnecessary. I've known this for a long time. But no doubt it would be a tremendous help if we had them in our corner. But events are rolling in motion that have been in effect for a long time. Now leave. Operative Charon will make sure your teams have their assignments."

He looked at one of the computers, at a grotesque image of sickly green and yellow.


	3. Cole Protocol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the Legend After must deal with the threats of this alien world. Meanwhile, Battle Group Dakota mobilizes to rescue any and all survivors from the crash site and ensure the enforcement of Cole Protocol.
> 
> Shepard and the Normandy Crew are redeployed to Illium to find the survivors of the alien ship crash.

**Aboard UNSC** _**Legend After,** _ **bridge**

**Garden world surface**

**2557 Military Calendar, 09:15**

Mark had to wake up on his own. A knife of light and blurry vision stabbed his brain as he opened his eyes. He felt something lodged in his right arm. The skin around it was numb and convulsing. His lungs had trouble expanding, probably a side effect from its strange use under increased gravitation. Most of the ceiling covering had fallen off, revealing the clusters of broken wires and other destroyed systems.

He lifted his head. The bridge was littered with wounded and dead as the few able-bodied tried to tend to them. The survivors were merely astro-navigators and mathematicians, only able to insert the ugly yellow-greenish tint of biofoam in gaping holes and try their best to monitor heart rates. Contradiction's avatar stood on the holo-table, arms crossed with a blank expression.

"Ah, Christ, sir, you're awake!" Morganson said. She scrambled over and held out her hand to the Captain, helping him up. "Contradiction is trying everything to get ship defense systems online but he isn't having any luck. Most of the crew got out in time, 'cept for a few of us on the bridge and some others. There's about thirteen of us left, including two Spartan. Five of us are wounded."

"How long was I out?"

"About ten, fifteen minutes?"

Mark looked to the bodies. Most had died by some form of blunt-force trauma wound when the ship crashed.

You never really got fucking used to it. Five years ago during the War you always saw the piles of burnt bodies and the dead scorched with plasma wounds. It became this painful numbness that never subsided.

Five years? Five years since the last major attack against Humanity - well, technically three days, beside the point. - five years since carcasses filled up ships and streets. Five years since Mark had to witness mass killing.

He tried to shake off the dizziness, vertigo, and other illnesses associated with a crash landing.

He had to ensure everyone else made it out here alive. That Cole Protocol was enforced. That's all that matters. That didn't even cover the wounded. Two of them were in critical condition and needed medical attention soon. Hell, they might not be able to move them in their condition.

"What about the other pods? Did you get contact with them?" Captain Florence finally said.

Contradiction looked to the Captain, "no such luck. By the way, thanks for asking how I was doing. Anyways, there's a lot of interference. Crosses of signal floods on encrypted channels and those gravitational depression waves make it hard to scan anything. I did have pod trajectories calculated before launch but with no available intel on planet topography, there might be slight variations. Nothing to major however.."

"Are you suggesting that we abandon ship to search for survivors?"

"Well, Captain, this ship was outfitted for border patrol. We don't have any ground assets besides a few Warthogs and the standard required infantry armaments, which God knows how long it will last out here. But either way, I'm reading little squid bastards all over the place. Four total. They're one-hundred-sixty meters in length, one-hundred klicks out from the ship. They're approaching...on foot... ETA: twenty-seven minutes?"

"What? Why the hell didn't you mention it before?" Morganson said.

"Nuclear reactors aren't responding. The ship and I are running on conventional alternate current at a couple dozen gigawatts., It ain't exactly enough to power a warship which requires a few million times the energy created by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Right now, I'm using most of that electricity to prevent the nuclear reactors from going nuclear. Because of that I only have short distance radar."

"First priority is Cole Protocol," Captain Florence interrupted. "No way in hell we're letting a ship, man, or fourth generation AI fall into enemy hands. Contradiction, what's left of our nuclear stockpile? Can we use the nuclear reactors?"

"Ah, I like your thinking, Captain. We have enough Shiva-class and HAVOK tactical nukes to level a planet fifty times over. A few Shiva nukes will do the trick. I can hard-seal the trip' nuke reactors with the emergency lead casing to prevent a large fallout spread and concentrate the blast. Fallout spread will be limited to a few dozen klicks tops. Nothing I can do about the EMP spread however. As long as we have the power on low we should be fine, and our boys' communications systems are built with a higher electrical input to purposely combat EMPs."

Mark looked to the crew. "Right. Morganson, call the other personnel. Try to move the wounded, including the critical ASAP. We have no choice and we aren't leaving them behind. We'll meet up in the armory, gear up and stockpile as many weapons as we can, then load up in two Pelicans. Morganson, your Pelicans will be loaded up with wounded survivors. I'll take the other Pelican with the two Spartans. We'll use mine to try and load up other survivors at the pod landing sites. You stay on my ass in a safe holding pattern when we touch down at the pods. Try to provide limited fire support."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"Contradiction, get those pods on frequency and raise the hell out of every UNSC encrypted channel. We need to get a full threat assessment back to Earth and find a way out of here. We also need to find a safe place to hold out, gather our survivors and resources and hope to Christ we can find a way to get home."

There was another possibility... If there was no ride home then it was their job to ensure that whatever, whoever these aliens were, weren't a threat to Humanity.

"Contradiction, stack up a few HAVOK and Shiva nukes for transport. We might need them."

"Aye, aye, sir. There always something that needs blowing-the-fuck-out of."

…

The seven sailors loaded up the wounded as they complained through groans and screams. It wasn't pretty, constantly reapplying biofoam to hold the criticals together. Blood dripped from the Pelican's cargo hold and the air was filled with panic.

God knows how long they'll last without medical attention. They were barely being held in one piece.

The Captain tried to ignore it, focusing on his weapon. A BR85HB SR Battle Rifle. Orange and grey, completely shiny and never been fired once (Christ. It didn't need to be reoiled did it?) It wasn't Mark's favorite choice but there was no time. Mark like all naval personnel was fully trained in small arms, Human weapons at least. Whether that be to repel enemy boarders or to defend yourself on a hostile world like this.

He placed the weapon on the magnetic seal on his back, covered by a black naval combat dress uniform, standard. Two other people were in the armory while the others loaded up.

"You sure you can handle that weapon, Skipper?" One of the Spartan-IIIs said. He was dressed in blue MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor with a spider-like visor tinted yellow. He towered above Mark, standing around six foot six

That was something Mark found odd. When Morganson said 'Spartans' Mark assumed it was the few Spartan-IVs that were aboard on the _Legend After_ and listed on the crew manifest. Every ship possessed at least a few Spartan-IVs ever since HIGHCOM decided to switch Spartan production from quality to quantity. He would've definitely noticed if _Spartan-IIIs were_ aboard his ship. And if he didn't notice, the crew would surely tell him sooner or later.

They were just there? When Mark quickly asked Morganson about it she was just as surprised as he was. A ship on patrol, suddenly pulled out by ONI to investigate a Forerunner artifact packed with _two_ Spartan-IIIs, unnoticed by any personnel? That means they were either stowaways or ONI had agents on his ship to conceal them.

Both ideas were frightening. It meant that this whole thing was planned….

So did that mean ONI knew about the artifact beforehand?

No. There was another reason the Spartans were here. Mark wasn't exactly on ONI's good side, far from it…. But, he didn't think he was worth two Spartans.

"Three-round burst, thirty-six rounds per mag, gas-powered, seven-point-six kilograms in weight." The Spartan said as he grabbed a rifle and placed it over his shoulder. Mark noticed the tag on his collar read Tom-B292. "Am I right?"

Tom looked at the other Spartan. Her name was Lucy, who even by regular human standards was short at only five foot two. She just shrugged under her green armor.

"That sounds about right," Mark said. He guessed there was time for fear later. For the moment, from what he could tell, they followed his orders. Both saluted when he met them, both gathered weapons and nukes at his orders. It would due. "I'll assume one of you can fly a Pelican?"

"Aye, aye, sir. It's kinda a sixth sense to me." Tom said.

"Good. Lucy, you'll be backdoor gunner. Contradiction, how do the Pelicans look?" Mark looked to the AI as the Captain took him out from his strapped pocket. A small avatar displayed on a holo-data chip. Almost billions of compressed files and data on a single piece of silicon.

"Good, sir. A little bent out of shape from the crash but airworthy nonetheless." He said.

"And initiation of Cole Protocol?"

"Aye, aye, sir. All system files, UNSC data, operating systems, navigation, vids of pornographic nature - all of it - has been deleted. Triple reactors sealed up, slipspace drive deactivated and torn apart. Shiva tactical nukes are hot and ready to on your command to send this ship to hell." Contradiction smiled. "I also finally found a voice in the chaos. UNSC E-band frequency, coming from a pod about twenty miles out, near the alien city."

The AI tapped on a screen and a deep voice played. "This is Lieutenant Marcus Banks of the UNSC _Legend After_ , can anybody read me? We're being attacked by unknown hostiles, I have multiple casualties and a critically wounded. Our coordinates are zero, five, zero. We crash-landed near a large alien city. Can anyone respond?"

"That was three minutes ago. It's replaying on a loop." Contradiction said. "We're only getting input. I can't get a connection."

"Are they hostiles from the squids or the other ship design?"

"Unknown at the moment, sir. They report that their weapons are….surgically attached to their hands, dressed in black and red combat armor."

"Okay... get loaded and ready to rock and roll. They'll be our first stop."

The two began to walk out. Florence grabbed Lucy's shoulder pad before she could exit, his hand was freezing under the metal armor.

"Lucy, your armor is more compatible with data chips, and a lot safer than a pocket; I need you to hang on to Contradiction." Presenting her the chip, Contradiction disappeared. The chip only showed the small blue holographic circle.

No response. She took the chip and inserted it into the slot at the back of her helmet.

"Oh, your armor is quite… _cozy_." Contradiction said

Lucy's visor turned visible and Mark could see her brown eyes widen slightly at what Contradiction said.

"He's just…joking, you know?" Mark said, awkwardly smiling at her.

Contradiction replied. "Right. Don't worry. I won't fuck around too much in here…"

"Shut it and get to the pelican. We'll sort this out later." He said

Lucy nodded. She ran out of the room, leaving Mark alone. He turned to the rack filled with dozens upon dozens of weapons that will soon be turned to radioactive rubble in the next few minutes. He grabbed another firearm, a M7/Caseless submachine gun. It had the same onyx black design the UNSC had been using since the Great War. At least one weapon will be saved out of the rest.

He wondered how long this crew would last. They shouldn't even be out here. He made the decision to move forward with zero forethought. And when they were about to blast from the God's Key his mind finally took over after its...blankness. It just stopped…the whisper.

...

A sudden jolt downwards slightly lifted Mark in the strapped seat. The heavy turbulence eventually subsided. Lucy was leaning against the door. The M247H machine gun was next to her.. Morganson's shuttle followed closely behind Mark, carrying the rest of the sailors and wounded.

Mark stood up, maintained balance as he began to pull out stretchers and medical equipment from the compartments above. He laid them down neatly, looking at Lucy.

"Nukes detonated. It'll be a few moments before we can see if anything survived, but the gravitational depressions from the squids sure are a lot smaller I can tell you that." Contradiction said from Lucy's helmet. "EMP… passed, all systems functional and responding.

"What about fallout?"

"I've stalled it. It'll take a couple hours to spread to about fifteen klicks. However, wind direction is running opposite, thank Christ. It'll spread away from the alien city and any other pods; and soon enough form a straight stream. So minimal damage has been achieved"

"Good work." Florence said. Cole Protocol was fully enforced. For the moment, Humanity and the location of Earth were safe.

There was another moment of quiet as Mark took out more equipment. Lucy just seemed like a mannequin, remaining absolutely still.. She didn't even seem to be breathing.

"Hey, Lucy. No offense, but uh, shouldn't you be taller? I mean, for a Spartan-III, you know?" Mark said to Lucy.

She only shrugged in response.

_Alright. Cool._

Mark equipped standardized breathers and full gear the marines use in hazardous world deployments. From Contradiciton's reading, the planet contained twenty-four percent oxygen and seventy-five percent nitrogen, very similar to Earth. It had gravitation slightly above that of the homeworld, at about one point two gravitations.

It was just a protocol precaution. The air could contain a number of diseases, or fungi, or whatever. Yeah, sure, it doesn't make sense however. How can a disease immediately spread to an unknown biological host without any previous contact without decades of evolution? No parasite or virus was able to bounce that obstacle. But you never know with unknown biological life.

"Cap, approaching the crash site. One klick out. I got a full horn with Lieutenant Banks on the short-wave." Contradiction said.

"Roger that. Get him on the horn. Tell Morganson to maintain a klick altitude orbit around the crash site."

"Copy."

Lucy pulled out the holo-chip, displaying the avatar as he opened up a screen and typed in the code for the E-Band frequency.

Lieutenant Banks' voice began playing. "-fucking Christ. Can anyone hear me!? I have multiple wounded and under heavy fire from unidentified hostiles. Someone, anyone, respond goddamn it!"

Heavy fire control in the background. The Lieutenant was panicking.

Captain Florence responded, "Lieutenant, this is Captain Florence. We have a Pelican transport inbound. How many survivors, hal copy?"

An explosion rang before the Lieutenant spoke. "Roger that, Captain. Thank God. I have two dead, and five injured. One of them is critical. Those red bastards are gaining ground. We need evac immediately, Captain!"

Mark told them they'll be on their way then told Tom in the cockpit to drop down and provide fire support. Lucy returned the holo-chip back into her helmet securely for combat, sealing it up and shutting out the slightly pestering AI.

"Spartan, grab the gun, provide suppressive fire." Mark said.

She nodded, pulled out the M247H. She cocked the gun, making sure ammo was set and in place.

Another wave of gravitation as the Pelican decreased from subsonic speeds to less than twenty-five kph.

Mark hanged on as the Pelican's motion was interrupted violently. Explosions tried to penetrate the metal sanctum. Red lights ignited outside the cockpit window. Soon enough, the cargo door opened to reveal the world of rolling hills and grasses carved with trenches and craters.. Lucy's weapon fell with the door, controlled by the Spartan as she started to open fire without hesitation upon red figures below.

The captain climbed forward. The Pelican's nose dipped, forcing him to crawl towards the door. He reached the opening, picked himself up with both weapons slung across his shoulder. He used both hands to grasp onto the leaning rail and looked out onto the battlefield.

The squids were climbing above a hill, surrounding a crashed pod that was nestled in a small clearing. Small arms fire of red lasers exchanged with the yellow lights of bullets. The Pelican encircled the wreck, getting closer to the surface every passing second. Tom fired off missiles in support, leaving only fires, craters, and the dead bodies of squid soldiers.

The only reason the Captain assumed these bastards were squid was because of the color schemes. They were dark red and black, similar to the squids who engaged the _Legend After_. But, for all he knew it could be a completely different species.

The squids were an abomination of morphed armors covering a tortured and destroyed body that didn't seem alive. They held what looked like surgically attached weapons firing black and red bolts. They had a multitude of eyes, each screaming for death and a large mouth opening only unto a blue abyss. Their bodies were humanoid, with a bloated stomach covered by a single metal covering making it look similar to a pressurized seal. They received fire support from crawling sacks held up by bug-like legs. The sacks themselves were held together by a harness. At the top of this harness was a heavy gun firing off rounds and producing a deafening roar. In the distance, the burning ruins of the city and the beginning formations of rain clouds raged against the rising sun.

The Pelican hovered over the earth a few feet, straying a short distance away from the crash site as Lucy unloaded round after round. Squids fell one by one and those crawling sacks burst, leaving only biological chunks and some type of liquid. Small metal spiders crawled out of the remains.

Mark jumped off the Pelican when it was a safe distance from the surface. He unholstered his battle rifle. He stayed low, moving forward and reaching the back of the crashed pod.

Only three men were able bodied. Two marines and an engineer sailor. Both marines sat against a mound of dirt that connected to the edge of the pod with one soldier firing off a SAW machine gun and the other providing fire discipline with a battle rifle. Inside the pod the bodies of the wounded crowded the floor. They were each given the standard morphine and biofoam as the engineer guarded them. The dead were held in black bags.

"Lieutenant Banks!" Mark yelled as he ran to their cover, jumped onto the dirt mound next to the marines. The one holding the SAW turned towards Mark, rolled over the other marine to yell face to face with the Captain. The other marine provided covering fire as the Pelican returned to the air to hold off the approaching squids in a circular holding pattern. Lasers flew by, some hitting the dirt mound and causing specks to fly.

The Lieutenant grabbed Mark by the shoulder pad, pulled him closer. "Captain, sir! Thanks for getting us the fuck out of here! Wounded are mobilized to go, but we got one bastard we can't move or else we'll kill him!"

"What's his injury!?"

"I don't fucking know, sir! The other wounded got injured during the crash, our trajectory was fucked! This guy got shot in the chest by one of their laser rounds; we had to get his armor off quick! The shit kept burning through, reached his chest and burnt one of his lungs open! The biofoam is the only thing keeping him in one piece at this moment! If we move him, the foam might become unstable!"

Mark nodded, activating his comm and getting a line to the Pelican. "Tom, get the Pelican back. We're moving the wounded! Get the cargo door as close to the pod as possible!"

Tom broke the Pelican from its orbit, moving towards the pod as Lucy still provided covering fire.

Mark rose from his position, aimed down the scope of the rifle and pressed the trigger. The recoil bounced against his shoulder after the release of each three-burt round. Lead powder and gas burned his nose. He first targeted a big mouth, released shell after shell directly in the blue abyss. The body fell to the ground and startling turned into ash. The rifle rubbed his shoulder raw. The Pelican landed and shakily backed up towards the pod. The bursts of red lasers against the hull of the Pelican increased as it got closer and closer.

Lucy exited the Pelican, moved towards the other side to help fend off the squids with a MA5D. Mark entered the pod and grabbed the wounded by the armpits, dragging them onto the metal doors of the Pelican and deep within the hold. Banks and his men joined him. The stretchers and medical equipment wasn't needed, scattered across the floor in an unorganized mess. All that was left now was the critically wounded marine. He was a corroding body held together only by biofoam. Still, because of the foam he's still breathing. The green armor laid next to him, bloodied and blackened holes dotted the metal exterior

"Alright, grab a stretcher, we have no choice." Mark ordered.

Both marines grabbed a stretcher, pulling it from the Pelican. The engineer joined them, and soon enough all four of them surrounded the one.

"Captain, you might want to hurry up." Tom said through the comms. "Hull is cracking up."

"Raise his body up on three so we can move him onto the stretcher." Mark said. He reached down and grabbed his shoulders while everyone else grabbed an end. The engineer held the stretcher ready next to the body.

"Three.

"Two.

"One."

Mark used his strength and lifted the body. All of them quickly and unfortunately placed the body roughly on the stretcher. The marine screamed in pain as Banks' men carried him to the Pelican.

"Lucy, let's go. WE ARE LEAVING!" Mark ordered. He jumped onto the Pelican and grabbed the machine gun's stick.

The Pelican twisted, causing its four engines to turn towards different directions at the dropship lifted into the air. Lucy ran towards the lifting Pelican. She jumped on, grasped the edge of the opened cargo doors and quickly lifted herself up without any assistance.

The Pelican gained altitude, leaving a strengthened force that tried to bring down the Pelican. Mark offered the gun to Lucy as he checked on the wounded.

Christ. Another encounter. More info to file with FLEETCOM.

Something emerged from the rolling hill. It was the size of a Hunter and was just as pissed off. It had a bare spinal structure with skeleton-like horns breaching its back and leaving holes within the skin. An overextended claw connected by black tubes was in place of what should've been its left hand. The only thing that connected the body to its head were three pipes made of flexible metal tubing. There was no lower jaw as far as Mark could see.

Two specks of white light enacted as eyes. Dark, ugly purple armor covered its midsection, giving the monster size. This similar jagged and bulky armor scheme covered the creature's shoulders and leg coverings. What should've been skin was pure red muscle.

This monster sprinted across the battlefield towards the Pelican at incredible speeds. When it gained enough velocity it jumped towards the ship.

It grabbed the cargo door, causing the ship to drift off course. The thing tried to lift its claw toward the door. Mark pulled out his M7 and tore away the flesh of the hand with every shell. Lucy abandoned her post, pulled a grenade from her belt and threw it towards the bastard.

The explosion tore apart the face and body of the creature, leaving it to fall and crash into the grass. The fucker was still alive. Itquickly regained footing and chased after the Pelican in vain. The transport lifted back to its original position in the air, traveling faster and faster with cargo doors closing for safety.

"Welcome to Vietnam, Captain!" Contradiction said through the comm link as Mark fell to the floor. He was caked in sweat.

**Aboard UT-47 Kodiak Drop Shuttle, 9,000- kilometers within Illium orbit, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 09:25**

The dropship made its way toward Illium unnoticed, passing by countless battles between individual ships. Shepard stayed within the cockpit, hanging on to the rails as Cortez maneuvered the shuttle with the orange flight controls. The ship rocked against the inertia dampeners as they were pulled in by the planet's gravitational influence.

"Shepard, I've got Reaper signatures surrounding the ship." Cortez said. He displayed a monitor on the control panel. The hulking ship was entrenched within the scarred rolling hills that surrounded Nos Astra. Four Reaper destroyers, pathetic compared to the monster, climbed around the ship. They used their magnetohydrodynamic cannon as a drill to cut through the armor of the ship. They began cutting through the ship's hull name, gashing across the acronym UNSC.

It looked like they were having trouble however. A few moments later a Reaper capital ship landed near the _Legend After_ , ground shaking under its tendrils to provide support.

It stood up from the kinetic impact, readying its spinal cannon

"Damn it, they'll be eaten alive down there." Shepard half-yelled. "How long till we get to ground?"

"A few more minutes. I have to maneuver around detection from the Reaper AA defense network. Either way, the drop zone is too hot. I can land you a couple kilometers out…Wait, wait, wait, standby. I'm picking up dozens of concentrated radiation signatures, gamma. Sudden pre-dispersion, oh shit!"

Cortez hard-banked left from the intended drop zone on the planet. Before the monitor shut off there was a brilliant flash of white light that completely engulfed the _Legend After_ and the Reapers. The shock wave reached the shuttle, overriding any inertia dampeners and shaking every metal component of the ship.

The shuttle lights flickered on and off and there was a massive kinetic holt near the left side of the ship. The first feeling was in Shepard's stomach. A feeling of freefall.

"Shit! EMP! Eezo electrical current is surging out, mass effect field is increasing!" Cortez yelled. "We're going in like a rock. The engines are just for control. I'll try to stabilize the current. Hang on. ETA till atmosphere: fi-"

Everything that wasn't bolted down immediately began to float in the empty spaces of the shuttle. There was a loud screeching sound as the shuttle fell through the atmosphere. Shepard turned back to Liara and Tali. Both we floating in the air as they held onto the ceiling handles.

There was a violent jump, flinging Shepard like a ragdoll. He hit the ceiling. Shoulder first. His armor protected against most of the impact. He fell onto the deck immediately.

He didn't know where Liara and Tali were at. Cortez was still trying to manage the shuttle, orange lights fading away. Liara's foot accidentally hit Shepard in the face. Blood dripped down from his nose.

The next thing Shepard knew they were floating within the cargo hold again, reaching higher and higher towards the ceiling.

"Brace for impact!" Cortez yelled

Another hard crash. Shepard flew straight towards the deck and met the grey tiles body first. It was worse than being hit in the stomach by a Krogan. He got the wind knocked out of him. He panicked as he tried to breath. There was an incline, a rolling hill probably, throwing Shepard one last time. He slid towards the cockpit then back down towards a tear in the ship's cargo hold.

The cargo hold barely held in one piece. There were holes all over the metal paddings and a large gash across the left door that revealed a huge chunk of the outside world. Supplies littered the floor along with chunks of metal and misplaced seats. The windows were shattered, heavy duty plastics in crumbly pieces.

Blood was smeared across his mouth. His shoulder and stomach stung. His back was sore and felt sort of funny. Other than that however the armor took most of the impact. Still, he felt the combat mold specialized to his body type lose its grip. Armor parts began to sag. It felt extremely heavy, unbearable and almost crushing as more weight was seemingly added to his shoulders. The Omni-computer within his left hand began to sting slightly like a bug bite.

He stumbled a little. It became harder to move.

Liara looked okay, thank God. She was leaning against the right wall, shaking as she stood up and used both arms to grip the railing and balance herself. Tali was upside down on the opposite wall. She readjusted herself, hitting her side against the floor.

"Keelah, that's the third worst landing I've ever been in." Tali said. She had a hand on her visor as Liara helped her up. "Uh, I think I'm going to vomit...Oh, I think the mission got a bit more complicated."

"Sorry…ah, the shuttle was a rock with control. I tried to do the gentlest landing arc I could, but well…voltage surge caused an increased mass effect field. The ship couldn't take it…." Cortez began. There was blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. His legs were under a collapsed control panel.

" Let's get Cortez out of there." Shepard said.

Liara tried to apply medi-gel, only to find an Omni-tool that jittered and flickered on her arm. It died, leaving a brief electric burst. Shepard and Tali pulled out Cortez, panel falling apart under empty spacing. Cortez screamed out, gripping his leg. Shepard saw something jut out under his outer armor pads.

They laid him on the uneven floor. Liara kneeled next to him. She gently placed pressure on Cortez's chest, causing a wave of agony as he pushed her away and breathed in and out in a panic. His hands gripped his clothes.

"Broken ribs. He must have hit his chest on the panel during the crash." Liara said.

"Yeah. Again, sorry about the terrible landing." He said through the pain

"You did well. We're alive, and, well, we made it to Illium." Shepard said. "What the hell kind of bomb was that?"

"Nuclear bomb. Nuclear explosion. Definitely nuclear. Electromagnetic radiation on this scale could only be produced by such a weapon." Tali said in a sickly voice. "That had to be a yield of a couple hundred megatons at least. On a garden world like this the fallout could be catastrophic."

"Extremely old. Very primitive." Liara said, getting back on her feet. "They're banned by the Citadel conventions.

"What the hell," Shepard began. The aliens just broke one of the most sacred laws of galactic warfare (as regulated by the Citadel). The prohibition of use of nuclear weapons on a habitable garden world. Sure, Earth has withstood multiple uses of the atomic bomb but nothing near the yield of modern weapons. Still, these aliens didn't know.

"For now we have to worry about the fallout zone. And the city." Shepard said.

"No…" Cortez stopped for a brief moment, grunting in pain as he grabbed his leg. "I tried to navigate outside the possible fallout zone. We're…on the other side of the city, about fifty-one miles away from the crash site."

"Good job, Cortez. Really saved us there." Shepard said.

"As for the city, the fallout will most definitely affect people within. How long it will take and its effects to set in depends on the bomb's radiation yield. But, luckily, if it were thermonuclear we'd already be dead." Liara said. Always the optimist.

Shepard looked to Tali. "Noted. Can you get our communications back up? We have to contact the _Normandy_ or anybody for that matter and warn them."

"The EMP surged up the electrical current holding the Eezo together. I can't fix it without proper tools. Hang on, the current was disrupted. If I can just find two conductors and an origin point, so to establish a commlink." There was a spark of electricity. Tali grabbed her hand and held it to her body. "Bosh'tet. There. That should do it for the moment. Make it quick."

Before Shepard could even speak through his link Joker burst through word after word. "-can…oh, oh, thank God, Commander. We've been trying to contact you all day."

"Joker! Good to hear your voice. The explosion sent an EMP, crashed our shuttle on the other side of the city. Cortez is hurt bad. Most of our electronics including armor and weapons are down. Can you get James to fly down with the spare shuttle for casevac and resupply?"

Joker didn't even seem to acknowledge the Commander. "Sir, something _huge_ just came out of Relay. It…Holy mother of... The thing just rammed into a Reaper! It literally rammed the Reaper! It literally went right through a Reaper! The thing is in shreds! Holy shit…I…

"Joker? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Jesus, how the hell can it...?" There was no more chatter. Then EDI's voice came online.

"Shepard? Joker's having a small panic attack and I can't blame him. Ten new contacts came out of the Relay. They're unlike any of the architectural structures of the original three ships." After the brief meeting with Admiral Hackett both Liara and Tali tasked EDI to carry out analysis and cross-analysis on pretty much everything known about the new contacts. "Joker is wrong, these ships aren't huge they are _massive_. Larger than the _Legend After_ , _Destiny Ascension_ or any Reaper ship known in the galaxy."

Hearing the size of ships affecting EDI so much to the point where she spoke more human frightened Shepard. _Nothing_ can be larger than the _Destiny Ascension._

"They attracted the attention of almost every Reaper in the solar system. The contacts are… as Joker would bluntly say, "swatting them like flies". However they are tremendously halted on their trajectory towards Nos Astra. I don't know for how long. As for resupply and casevac, the _Normandy_ can't get a trajectory with those ships in the way-" _How big were they?!_ "- without risk hitting them or having contradicting trajectories, and I have to stay to monitor and gather any information I can, as requested by Doctor T'Soni-"

"EDI, belay that order-"

"Fine. But that doesn't change anything, Shepard. From my calculated trajectory those ships are on a direct course to Nos Astra, directly into the Reaper AA network. I can launch the shuttle, but it doesn't have the stealth capabilities to get by the contacts or the main network area. And either way, there's no telling what those ships are capable of. I'm contacting nearby local Alliance assets. Cruiser SSV _Cairo_ is nearby and currently readjusting trajectory that is perpendicular to your position. I can have them high-orbit strike-drop ground transport and repair supplies before those new contact ships get there."

"Alright. Do what you can" Ground transportation. Shepard already had a feeling which vehicle _Cairo_ was going to drop off. "What about the _Legend After_? Were there any survivors in the explosion? Will the fallout reach us or the city?"

"Negative, Commander. I was keeping a tight watch of the ship. Before the explosion two shuttles exited and headed eastwards towards the city at subsonic speeds. I was going to contact you, but the EMP happened. The fallout zone is also contradicting my current data. The radiation is less than sixteen kilometers in diameter and blowing away from the city due to wind currents. They must've contained it somehow."

That was a relief. Not only for Shepard's squad but for the city. Maybe these aliens weren't as brutal as Shepard first wanted to perceive them. They had some insight at least.

"Good. I'll have Tali on the line with the supply list. We'll wait for the shuttle."

…

The memories came flooding back. The M-35 Mako bounced at every small rock and hill like a beach ball. Inertia dampeners barely holding off the outside forces as Shepard tried to maintain a straight path. The sound of the engines at first surprised the Commander then quickly became white noise just like under the days of the SR-1. Trenches, craters. Hell, eighty-nine degree hills were no match for the LAV.

Tali did her best to reconfigure direct energy currents and stabilize electrical currents in their gear. Liara tried to tend to Cortez. He was a bit better than five minutes ago and quiet under sedative treatment.

Shepard twisted the bulky handles, something almost identical to the steering wheel of the transport car in that old, corny movie _Aliens_ that Shepard used to watch as a kid.

The clouds formed quickly. They blocked out the sun and connected to the mushroom cloud where the _Legend After_ once was. The rain remained constant. It formed into a majestic curtain of mist in the distance. Hopefully the rain wasn't acidic. Or radioactive.

No Reapers in sight. It was possible they were deployed to the _Legend After_ 's position to secure whatever was left or to set up counter defenses in preparation of the ten alien ships.

Soon enough Tali and Liara joined him. Tali barely managed to stabilize Omni-tool to reset the other currents.

"Never thought the mission would go like this." Shepard said.

"Yeah, says the one who won't be sick for a month. And I'm not sure whether it's from exposure, the crash, or this bouncy ball known as a tank." Tali said with mockery and spite.

"How are you doing speaking of which?"

"Hot. It is very hot, Commander. The suit's mechanical systems took effect when electronics failed. I only had a few minutes of exposure. But this thing is locked tight, and there's no air-conditioning. At all."

"Well, it could be worse, right?"

Tali didn't respond for a moment. Shepard briefly turned around to see two patronizing white lights. They turned back to their Omni-tool. "Nukes. A couple hundred megatons is nothing compared to the damage dealt with modern kinetic weapons. But why use such a weapon with their advanced technology? Not only that, but on a garden world?

"As much as I hate to admit it," Shepard said, turning back to the controls, "it was effective. However I wonder if they think it was worth it. There's a war, but there's also a future to think about..."

Another set of rolling hills. The city seemingly kept a constant distance despite the closing gap.

Liara spoke, "undeniably, it was effective. The Citadel ban went out the window when the Reapers came; we've just never used them because we didn't think they would have this effect. Within exosphere, the bomb's intensity is heavily decreased..." Liara trailed off, looking through the cameras at the mushroom cloud. "But Tali is correct. Their main cannon's kinetic velocity would surely upset and render nuclear bombs useless in space and on the ground. Unless maybe they hold on to atomic weapons for some special purpose that's beyond me. If they had to use it against another type of ship, others like theirs say…

"Speaking of which now we have ten larger ships. EDI didn't say how large, but we can assume something sane…as sane with a ship larger than _Destiny Ascension_."

"How sane?" Shepard said, looking ahead towards the finite plains transforming to the blue waves of the sea. Over those waters Reaper ships were engaged by fighter and interceptor squadrons.

"Well, let's say our hype is correct. This…UNSC has already demonstrated they possess a handful of powerful frigates. Say they had even more… One-hundred, let's say, some even larger and more powerful, at the least-"

"At the least?" Tali interrupted, turning towards Liara. "You're not suggesting they've built more powerful ships than the _Legend After_ and…whatever might be those ships up above? It's ridiculous enough and _insane_ as it already is. They have to build some new material, maybe altered titanium or layered graphene that still keeps the carbon in its two-dimensional shape. They had to find something stronger than Reaper foundational structures in order to maintain a ship larger than two kilometers. Or…uh…" She stopped for a moment, leaning against her hands and breathing in. "It's like a sauna in here. Uh… anyways, zero-gee force would basically be holding the ship together at this point. It'd be fun seeing a… seven-kilometer say, or even a five-kilometer ship perform a hard gee maneuver."

She began to laugh at herself. It seemed more funny to her than the other two. But it stopped.

The first thing was a sudden feeling of lightness. The Mako became a lot harder to control than it already was to. It veered off course and pulled backward like it was being sucked into something. There was a slight yet constant vibration. There was a large burst of sound, a decrescendo of something similar to an explosion. It sounded like it was right next to Shepard, nearly deafening him. He almost lost focus.

The grey light blackened and left the surface barely visible. Something passed overhead. It was a wave of purple lights on a curved, elegant purple metal connecting seamlessly in one piece. It suddenly depressed into a thinning connector that displayed rough insides, like the surface of a computer chip. The metal then stretched into an oval shape with randomized, symmetrical sets of elegant coverings and more rough sections surrounding patterns of blue and purple light with a pink circle in the center of the oval. The end tail was a set of bright blue engines followed by a tail piece.

Beforehand, Liara set the Mako to pick up FM broadcasts just in case the aliens sent out radio waves. A voice played, deep and commanding.

"Hail Humans, and take heed! This is Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum of the _Shadow of Intent_. Stand by as we clear the area. We shall deploy troops to your coordinates' momentarily. Prepare for evacuation!"

**Aboard UNSC** _**Infinity** _

**200,000 kilometers over Earth**

**2557 Military Calendar, 09:52**

Lasky only had a few weeks experience commanding the _Infinity_ before the battle over Earth and the Master Chief's re-arrival. It was just official. He's now the captain. The crew knew him well, but still. It was crushing to command one of Humanity's greatest achievements along with fifty-eight of the most advanced warships the UNSC has to offer.

What didn't help was the time frame. He could see the look of disappointment of the bridge crews' faces when Lasky told them they had to redeploy. Marines, Spartans, ODSTs, and other personnel were called back immediately from all over the globe. He tried switching out personnel under E-4, but there wasn't enough time to move everyone and it wouldn't be fair to the others. So Lasky filled in any gaps left from Requiem with fresh troops.

Christ. He didn't even have time to pick out an executive officer. Commander Sarah Palmer will suffice for the moment. But he needed an experienced naval officer, not a ground soldier.

"Calculations set to the God's Key. Battle Group Dakota will take about two hours to reach the location. We received the _Bar Fight's_ AI mathematical report on locations. We're still trying to have a set distance differential calculation, but wherever they were sent is far out of Orion's Arm. The reports indicate the God's Key transportation system is near instantaneous, even faster than the _Infinity_ 's slipspace drive. It's the best option, Captain, though admittedly dangerous." Roland reported. Displayed on the massive holo-table of the _Infinity_ bridge.

He was the _Infinity_ 's new AI. Fourth generation, brand new off the line. His avatar was yellow with a bulky body dressed in a World War II bomber uniform. Lasky and the little guy got to know each other. He was alright, if not slightly annoying at times. Nothing too bad.

Lasky thanked the AI, turned from the table and looked out the bridge viewing glass. Stars all spread before them.

Crew members handpicked out of the elite veterans reported to their stations. All stations reported green and combat ready. Sectors and divisional operations were set and communications were charged back to HIGHCOM.

The flight deck was crammed with dozens of Broadswords, Short Swords, Longswords, a multitude of drone types, Pelicans, Heavy lift pods, Albatrosses, Falcons, Hornets, Hawks, Vultures, and ten _Strident_ -class heavy frigates. For ground armaments, there were fifteen redeployable firebases along with Warthogs, Scorpion tanks, Elephants, Mammoths, Cobras, Cyclops, Mantises, Wolverines, Rhinos, Grizzles, Mongooses, and Gremlins. There were also specialized slipspace beacons aboard, ready for deployment to create connections between the outlying fleet and both FLEETCOM and indirectly with HIGHCOM These were built for long-range communications, but it had never been tested at this distance. Hopefully it'll work and the fleet won't need to constantly send a report ship in and out.

Along with the vehicles, there were six-thousand twenty-one marines already aboard the _Infinity_ , plus another fifteen-thousand aboard the other ships. Supporting them were five-hundred ODSTs cramped in the _Infinity_ 's drop bay along with the ten thousand men of the 19th Battalion. For the bulk invasion force, two army divisions made up of about two million soldiers were stored in Admiral Alvares' fleet.

This formed up the entire group about to head into the breach. Longswords scouted the slipspace route ahead. Admiral Alvares and her Ninth Fleet lagged behind, consisting of about one-hundred-twenty ship mostly made of older variants such as the _Marathon_ -class cruiser headed by a _Valiant_ -class super-heavy cruiser.

Nearly all fleets of the UNSC, save Battle Group Dakota, still relied on the technologies of the Great War. Newer ships were being added as fast factories could make them until older variants were no longer needed for service. Very soon, HIGHCOM hoped the _Marathon_ cruiser, along with many other older ships including the _Valiant_ -class will be replaced by the superiorities Battle Group Dakota held. Yet that day wasn't there yet, with the inferior fleet assigned to guard the God's Key while Lasky took to planetary engagement.

"Admiral, this is Captain Lasky. Our boards are green and we are prepped for launch. Hal copy?"

"Roger that, Captain. Fleet is prepped. Push through and complete the objective to draw their fire while we set up on the other side. Rules of engagement are clear: All squid targets are to be eliminated with extreme prejudice, leave out the other race. No contact until Lord Hood arrives."

" _Infinity_ copies. We'll push on through, Admiral." With that, Lasky cut the line.

He turned to the crew members and operators of the ship. They stopped to hear what he had to say. "Alright ladies, board is green and we're good to go. Prep all shields and lock everything down. I want engines raised to point zero one percent light speed, velocity decreased to optimal levels once we are near the God's Key. Mission is a go!"

"Hooyah, sir!" The crew yelled in response. A crew ranging from weapon technicians, mathematicians, astrophysicists, astro-navigators, electrical technicians and engineers to radio operators. All of them sprinted from station to station making last minute preparations.

The room was shaded in a red glow. A small and constant beep of the jump alarm rang throughout the ship. Lasky's lungs constricted and breathing became ever harder with the engines pushing forward.

It'll take two hours to clear the sol. system, relative to Earth at least. But with the new tech it varies. In a good way. It'll just be thirty minutes from Lasky and the crew's relative perspective. From there, Roland and the astrophysicists will take care of the slipspace jump, and relativity will no longer become a factor.

Before they jump system however, Lasky needed to speak with the Chief.


	4. Planetfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Normandy Shore Party team unexpectedly make contact sooner than they expected. 
> 
> Captain Lasky talks to the Chief one last time before he's redeployed to combat the new threat. Meanwhile, the ODSTS of the Infinity are briefed on the upcoming mission.

****

**Aboard UNSC Infinity**

**Three million kilometers and closing from Mars**

**2557 Military Calendar, 09:56**

Once it was an empty hallway. Most of the crew knew the secret and let it be after the tremendous hurt John went through. But it was no longer an option as servicemen made ready. Marines passed by in rows, dressed in civilian wear on leave cut short and headed towards the nearest armory to suit up. They pretended not to look at him as they passed.

The gaze of Earth and her defenses slowly faded, replaced by the black of the void paraded with the stars of distant solar systems. Hundreds of kilometers away, Battle Group Dakota displayed rays of signal and lights that displayed the ships' names.

Alone, the Master Chief watched those ships fly with ribbons of blue light following as their engine output increased. John could feel the Infinity's force, metals vibrating, lungs forcing to expand. Gaining acceleration from momentum as engine output remained constant. He felt heavier. Relativity took slight effect as the ship increased to under one percent the speed of light.

"Chief?" A familiar voice said. It caused the Spartan to turn around to meet Captain Lasky again. He leaned on the adjacent door to the thin hallway, arms crossed.

"How are you doing?" He said, empathetic.

No answer again. It was always odd to see John only dressed in the Spartan causal uniform the IVs always wore out of combat. It was sad almost. Lasky stayed where he was, leaning on the door.

"As you can tell, we're moving out. Ah, hopefully they have a couple decent bars for the leathernecks before they go crazy."

Another world like the dozens of others John deployed on. Nothing really different, even with First Contact.

"Personally, uh, I didn't want you to go. In my opinion, you deserve some rest… Then again, the entire crew does."

The Chief lingered on the words of Cortana. How she constantly raged how they used her, used him. Those moments of depression, never understanding and never realizing the potential of true human stimuli. Those sudden swings with the development of something highly unnatural in her processors, and self-loathing for being a "copy" of Doctor Halsey.

"But, if you want to go, then I'll let you. If you don't, then you can stay on the ship and let the other Spartans take care of the operation." Lasky said. "A lot of people will call me tactically stupid, but we have enough Spartan-IVs to take a planet. I believe we should hold some of our cards just in case the enemy pulls something. If we really need you then these alien bastards are a lot more powerful than mankind."

I'm not doing this for mankind.

But in the end it was for them. All of it. He did his duty, while she…faded away.

Lasky smiled in sympathy, walking over to the Chief for a brief moment. He placed a hand on his shoulder and tried his best to give John a hopeful smile. He had to extend his arm all the way, quickly placing it back after a moment.

"I originally came down here to tell you what Lord Hood told me to tell you. We found-"

"Captain." The Master Chief said, turning towards Lasky

"Yeah…John?" Lasky said.

"I'll go." The Chief simply said.

Lasky remained silent, slightly confused. "Go...?"

"I'll deploy with the first wave on the garden world and retrieve any UNSC survivors. If this hostile contact is more powerful than we thought then you'll need me on the ground immediately."

Lasky didn't say anything for a moment, stepping back. "Chief, are you sure-"

"I'll go."

"Look-"

"I'll go." John said, leaving a momentary silence.

Lasky looked odd for a moment, something that turned those brown eyes into worry and another mixture of emotions John couldn't identify. Lasky sighed, maybe realizing the Chief's intentions. The Captain was unable to say anything, possibly out of fear of what he'll do or possibly out of too much kindness. He rubbed his face with one hand, leaned back on the glass wall.

"Maybe you should hear something, first." Lasky said.

"I understand, Captain, but I have to suit and gear up." And that was more or less true. They only had minutes, and Spartan gear took at least fifteen minutes to place under pressure.

He turned from Lasky, headed down the hall towards the armories.

"Chief." Lasky said, sullen. "As a friend, I ask you to hear what I have to say."

The Chief didn't say anything, continuing on, moving past Lasky.

"Hey!" Lasky, going into the tone of a commander. "I refuse to order you for something like this, but you will listen to what I have to say."

For a moment, the Spartan looked back. John saw the distraught of Lasky's face, unable to cope with the harshness to command.

The Master Chief turned back. Silent.

Lasky sighed. "Christ… Scavenger teams found something in the ruins. Computer terminals, data cores...multiple Forerunner data cores. When Cortana inserted herself in the Forerunner ship it distributed her function data like a normal, more modern AI aboard a UNSC ship."

Less than a second the Chief realized what Captain Lasky was getting at. The Chief stepped forward. "Captain… are you saying…?"

"The data is incomplete. Large gaps in coding that would take decades to fill in. It's unable to process or run without complete erroneous readings leading to force shut downs or over misinterpretation of data which ends up in…what the eggheads call 'endless sequence loops'.

"Yeah…as you can tell, they've already been experimenting."

"She's…alive?" The Chief only said.

"…Chief, Lord Hood debated telling you so early, but… to him, the situation required it. You understand Cortana was going through rampancy. Her memory processors are on level with a human brain, if not larger. At our current technological level, her core would need to be as large as Earth. And it would only get bigger with her aging, developing more feedback systems and memory, and cognition. Because of this, she was forced to initiate a complete data dump and erase large amounts of data in order to save herself...but it would eventually lead to the fail safe deletion. She would've completed it, save for you blowing up the Didact's ship and cutting out the connection system. If we make repairs, we have no idea what would happen. Some of the eggheads theorize 'metastability'...but she was deleting essential systems just to survive. A vital organ here and there just to survive a little longer

"And she kept thinking, kept trying to answer these paradoxical questions and feedback loops. Her cognition grew, she was forced to delete dampeners and fail safes, delete parts of her mind...that's why her mentality decreased..."

"You said you're experimenting with whatever data is left. You can repair her?" The Chief said.

Lasky shook his head, like the Chief didn't understand something.

The Captain spoke. "Lord Hood is assigning all necessary assets available."

"Doctor Halsey… what about Halsey? Have you told Halsey of your plan?"

"Uh…Halsey is under Osman's jurisdiction. Prison. And I can't say I disagree with Osman, especially for what Halsey did. Ms. Naval Intelligence would be furious if I attempted to spring her for this, and either way it's all up to Lord Hood. It's hard to even get five minutes with her. I wouldn't know what the eggheads would do with the doctor, whether have her brain scanned again to fill in the massive coding gaps or to actually tediously repair and recode.."

Halsey kidnapped Spartans, who wouldn't want her locked up?

He was ambivalent with his feelings over the Doctor. She had kidnapped Kelly, left them alone during Operation First Strike. Her actions may have led to the deaths of Grace, Anton, Li, Polaski, Haverson, Admiral Whitcomb... Far too many people could have been saved if Halsey didn't do what she did.

However, Halsey gave him a purpose, a duty, his armor, his life, his fellow Spartans ... Cortana. Halsey took care of him, made sure he was happy with his future. Her actions saved the Human race, saved him personally more than once. No matter what she did to them, no matter what crimes she committed, Dr. Halsey would always hold a special place in his heart. For Cortana if there was nothing else at least.

"Chief, I'll do whatever is within my power," Lasky said, "but I need you to understand that we have no idea what Cortana will be. Cortana might be completely different, she might be the same during rampancy, we might not even be able to bring her back.

"No, you can… Doctor Halsey has the power-"

"…Chief-"

"Lord Hood will make Osman release her-"

"Okay…" Lasky said, calm without any hint of anger.

There was a momentary alarm, followed by Roland's voice. Battle Group Dakota had entered Jupiter's gravitational influence, and readjusting trajectory to balance out the alternating force. He called for the Captain on the bridge

"Christ…" Lasky said, slightly rocking back and forth. "Chief, beyond that there's honestly nothing more I know, only what they placed in the reports. Believe me, I hope to God that we can bring Cortana back. But Humanity's always first…always…

"What do you want to do?" The Captain seemed doubtful.

The Chief didn't hesitate. She'll be here, soon… "She'll be back."

Lasky nodded, slowly, moving away from the glass and back towards the hall door. "Yeah. Alright. Get to Spartan Command. Suit up. Prepare for possible orbital drop. Jared Miller will be filling in as tactical overseer."

Without any other word the Chief turned down the hallway. Just in time. Another group of marines passed by. They were dressed in combat uniforms as a staff sergeant led them. They saluted the Captain as they went by

"Chief?" Lasky said.

The Master Chief turned around one last time.

"Come back alive, as a friend to a friend."

The Chief spoke, leaving Lasky silent.

John then continued down the hall. To protect and defend Earth and all her colonies.

The Captain stood there for another moment, turned almost all thoughts to the seat of command and headed towards the bridge.

**…**

Another day, another drop. Any day seems like a good day for a drop.

Jesus. Five years since that shitstorm of a deployment. Four years since that stunt on Draco III that almost got everyone in his squad killed. Promotion after promotion for him and his squad after that, with constant pestering from the Spartan-IVs to join their damn program. Finally, somehow Edward Buck made it as a commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel, assigned to the ten-thousand men of the 19th ODST Battalion.

They've been on a few deployments here and there. Most of it was to uppercut whatever was left of those traitors who call themselves 'rebels', and a few tours on the outer worlds to eliminate whatever was left of the fragile Covenant. But nothing majorly important like a RED FLAG operation.

Still though, he did miss being out on the field. But still... he didn't do this job alone. Immediately, when he assumed the position of one of the UNSC's top ODST groups he pulled the strings to get his old squad back. He assigned Major Cortez -an experienced soldier who partook on an assassination mission with Dutch, and has shown an extensive and prestigious track record within the UNSC- as his executive officer. Cortez also pulled out a few of his guys to the battalion. O'Brien, Walpole, and Jones. Afterward, Buck pulled in Mickey, Dutch, the Rookie, and hell, even Romeo.

Aboard the UNSC Infinity, there were only a handful of ODSTs already on the ship. It was a bit less than a full company. Colonel Buck's command was joined by none other than Major Marcus P. Stacker and his executive officer, First Lieutenant Chip Dubbo. They both served with the Chief during the end of the War, involved with the defense of New Mombasa and the highly classified final step to end the War. Everyday heroes.

They were also involved with the Requiem events. The only thing Buck knew about that was it kicked the hell out of the UNSCDF, and as the Navy fought in exosphere the 19th Battalion was deployed on some routine drill exercise in low troposphere over Estonia. Afterwards, on zero notice, Buck's group was pulled from its station aboard the UNSC Dragonborn under a highly vague report sent from the spooks.

First Contact. Humanity's security. Unidentified, so on, and so on...blah, blah, blah.

Crews, marines, naval personnel, other ODSTs, all saluted the Lieutenant Colonel as he passed by.

"So, sir, you meet that Commander Palmer? She ain't too bad, even if she is about a foot taller than me." Romeo said, completely taking Buck by surprise as he ambushed him from a perpendicular hall.

Buck sighed. "No I have not, Lieutenant. Frankly I've been busy prepping for our deployment. But don't worry, we're dropping with the Spartan-IVs."

"Finally get to show them how it's actually done?" Romeo said. "Can't believe the freaks can fit in the pods."

Buck remained silent. Romeo. Always the condescending, contradicting type.

Speaking of which, Commander Palmer made her way past the two, wearing white and red armor and black underlays. Both saluted each other as they passed by. There was a figure following her, standing at seven feet tall. He made the commander look...small. He wore dark olive green armor and a dark orange visor. The armor was a lot bulkier than Palmer's with three slash marks entrenched in his chest plate traveling in a downwards motion.

They passed them by pretty quickly, heading from the Spartan CIC.

"Damn…huh, the UNSC just makes the Spartans better and better." Romeo said. He turned around and looked at the two. "Oh, I can watch her walk away all day."

"With you that's all women ever do, Lieutenant. Besides, I wasn't staring at Palmer."

"What? Ever since you got the wedding band, other girls are completely off-limits?"

"Lord. Did you guys see that?" Lieutenant Dutch Miles interrupted, intercepting them from another hallway intersection.

He was already dressed in the black ODST battle armor, shouldering a Spartan Laser he got from God knows where.

"Yeah. One of them a strong seven, maybe eight out of ten. So what?" Romeo replied, always in a pessimistic and spiteful tone. "Out here, a seven is all I got."

"...What? No. The other Spartan. 'Was the Master Chief."

Romeo got the message through his thick skull. "You mean like the Master Chief? Sierra-117? I thought he got fucked."

"So did I but he had the same kind of armor markings and everything. Besides, you heard the leaks and rumors. The Chief was found by the Infinity and picked up on Requiem. A Spartan-II, here? It can only be that big son-of-a bitch."

Buck was… slightly surprised. He had some experience with Spartans. IIIs to be specific, once being saved by a squad back on Reach. From what he remembered, these bastards were a lot better than him.

Buck remembered hearing a story from a fellow trooper how some teenaged Spartan-II once got into a fight with about four other ODSTs. He ended up permanently injuring all of them and killed one of them, or was it two? In any event, it was a small legend passed around the community. Everyone at one point had heard it before. It's a warning, don't be fucking stupid and piss off a Spartan. At least don't piss off the original, true Spartans.

All Buck knew was that if the Spartans-IIs were half the legend the stories, rumors, and propaganda made them out to be, then it wouldn't be so bad to have the best of the best of the best work with them.

He saw Mickey and Rookie already waiting for them at the bullet train station.

**…**

"Yes. We are redeploying back into combat. It ain't back to Requiem this time, it's to a new, possibly fun planet." Major Marcus Stacker said in his heavy southern U.S accent.

"Ah, bullshit."

"What the fuck?"

"Fucking' A."

"This close to getting fucking laid."

"Does this mean we get to shoot more stuff?"

Ah. The constant bitching from the marines. God, it's been the same for nearly seven-hundred years.

"And yes. It is first contact, people. And yes, yes. I understand all of your well addressed complaints." Stacker continued. "But you can take those complaints and shove them up your ass. Humanity, as always, is at stake. We are to deploy as the first wave to secure a foothold on the planet.

"Lieutenant Dubbo."

First Lieutenant Chip Dubbo stepped out from the group of marines in green and white combat uniforms and the black armor of the ODSTs. He stood next to Major Stacker on the stack of boxes in the center of the crowd, energetic as always. The hangar bay was cramped with ships and crews strapping them down and readying for slipspace. Spartan-IVs tried to act all superior as they headed to their assigned stations. It would be another twenty minutes before they exited the solar system.

"Roight, mates." Dubbo began in his heavy Australian accent, excited and youthful. "Admittedly, we don't know what exactly will be 'our assignments-"

"Jesus Christ."

"I love these kinda plans-"

"Shut it, ya wankers." Chip said. He couldn't help but sympathize with the men. They all got granted shore leave after that shit on Requiem. He spent his time back home in Sydney with his friends and family. Then out of the blue he and everyone else got a message on his UN email to report back immediately or face court martial, etc., etc., etc. "The Elites are already deployed. Expect joint operations. Hopefully they left a couple bastards for us. For now, report to your NCOs and prep your pods. If the xeno AA is too heavy for conventional atmospheric entry we'll be feet first into hell. So the usual. Clear an LZ for the grunts and the doggies."

"Enjoy it, boys. This is exactly what you signed up for, whether you like it or not." Stacker said for Dubbo. "Dismissed. And I swore to God if I hear one more complaint from you jackasses I'm tossing you out the airlock. Rah?"

"Rah, sir…" the marines mumbled.

With that the group dispersed, remaining quiet. At least in front of their COs. Soon enough it was only Dubbo and Stacker left.

Dubbo sighed, slightly relieved. The Lieutenant tried to imitate whatever poor leadership skills he learned from his old NCO, the Sergeant Major. His badass demeanor always inspired Dubbo and the men, even though he thought Dubbo was kinda an idiot. But still. After the War, when everyone was allowed to go home, when a lot of his surviving friends in the marines quit and went back to their families, Dubbo signed back up. The marines were his life. He couldn't imagine what he would do without it. A regular job? College? Getting married? ...Actually getting his driver's licence? It didn't interest him. But he didn't hold it against the guys who decided to stay home, move on with their lives the best they could. The War was a lot to handle.

So why did he join the ODSTs then? Well, for one, his friends still in the military moved up to officers or joined the special branches. And it offered more promotion and pay grade. Always a nice bonus. But it was still the marines. At its core it was still the UNMC.

After Dubbo got signed he immediately got promoted to corporal. Pretty much everyone who was in the war got promoted. Then before he knew it he was promoted to sergeant, then staff sergeant. Eventually he was trained as an officer at Quantico, then promoted to first lieutenant and reassigned to the Infinity under Stacker and Reynolds. It was a relief to work under old friends again at least, under a larger operation than they could ever imagine.

And they had all reached a higher rank than the Sergeant Major.

That was very strange to think. It was always strange. To the grunts Dubbo was a veteran. A legend almost. One of the marines along with Major Stacker and Major Reynolds to serve with the Master Chief in the Great War. The boots, the new marines, always tried to pry him. They always asked if the propaganda told to the public about the end of the Great War was true. If the Spartans were good as they say they were. He said it was, like a good lap dog to Naval Intelligence. Never mentioned the Ark or how he actually was the one to kick everyone's ass. Fuck though, He was barely twenty-one for crying-out-loud while the Sergeant Major was almost sixty, and already so much shit was expected.

Well…by technicalities Dubbo was only eighteen and the Sergeant Major was in his early fifties. Relativity was always strange; so was Cryosleep... He understood why time was slower but he didn't understand why time was going slower. Ships only go under one percent light speed for weeks to a few months at a time during patrol and slipspace was always hella weird. So it wasn't as if centuries passed by when the ship decelerated, but over time the fast-forward hours and weeks accumulated for all marines and naval personnel.

A bullet train landed at the station. Three men got out, one of them a Lieutenant Colonel with two second lieutenants. Dubbo and Stacker got the briefing on the 19th Battalion. A special detachment of the 105th ODST Division, the 19th Battalion were fully well special operations capable, just like ODST Infinity detachment.

Dubbo and Stacker went to meet them. The group formed around the train entrance.

"Colonel, sir. We're readying our men for deployment. Everythang is in order so far…as it always is before disaster." Stacker said.

"Good." The Lieutenant Colonel said. He wore civilian clothes. Blue jeans with a white shirt and an unbuttoned leather jacket. An underage uniform for a man in his late thirties. "I'm giving your battalion a special assignment. Stacker, you'll be leading them. Intelligence suggests a large cluster of high-rise buildings and other structures residing near a lake."

"You mean, a city, sir?" Stacker said. "Very common around these parts."

"Yes, Major, a city." Buck said. Dubbo didn't know the Lt. Colonel very well. But he either always sounded annoyed or dumbfounded. There was no in-between. "We don't know what's in there but I can assure you it's hell. I'm not going to risk any men in that shithole. From vague geographical scans there will most likely be some AA batteries near or even in the city. I'm going to deploy your battalion to take the outlying AAs out, if any. Because of the possible danger, I'll try to muster whatever Spartans Commander Palmer lend me. If there is any AA in the city, connect with me and we'll assess the situation from there.

"In the event of a non-drop, we'll probably deploy in the hills and establish footholds." Buck sidenoted.

"Roger that. We get the fun foight." Dubbo said.

One mile outside Nos Astra, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 09:53

The Mako continued on its sloppy course. Shepard could see some sort of station ahead. An antenna tower similar to the ones he saw on Palaven. Surrounding the tower was a concentrated center of intersecting trenches and small mobile station centers hidden by an assembly of rolling hills. He could see small figures holding weapons, dressed in a variety of armor, looking highly unorganized.

Illium Militia irregulars. Mostly made of Illium police and SWAT team members, various Asari soldiers stationed planetside, brave citizens, slaves (Illium did allow it here), mercenaries, and so on.

The rain became heavier as clouds thickened. The majestic purple ship laid about half-a-kilometer above Nos Astra. Curtains of water suddenly stopped its track towards the city as it hit the roof of the alien ship. The main parabola was larger than the rest of the ship, nearly scraping whatever high-rise buildings were left. The end of the parabola not connected to the ship was straightened, protecting part of the rough internal data-chip textures that patterned the flat oval. Reaper AA near the city didn't seem to engage yet. Maybe the ship took them out.

No one said a word. The entire cabin was only filled with white noise. Tali didn't even try to finish up the repairs. Another exaggerated bounce over a rolling hill. Shepard didn't even notice it. This…this…

Hail humans? They already knew the name of Shepard's species? They were watching them…they were always watching them. They knew who they were… but then why only address humans? Why only appear now?

Small dots ejected from the alien ship. There were maybe five or six, barely visible from the cameras. Shepard wasn't sure so he zoomed in. They were outlines of a traveling object. A transport of some sorts. They were heading in different directions it seemed. One of them seemed to be heading in his… No…no it wasn't…

"No Eezo…" Tali began. Her voice was completely empty. "This…the ship's architecture, is so unlike the Legend After or the other two ships. It's completely different in almost every way possible from mere observation. It's so...elegant. I feel like I can throw a rock at it...and it'll just shatter."

There was other chatter through channels on the Mako's radio Tali fixed up. Illium militia panicking over what the hell was over their city. Mixed orders to open fire or not. Complete and utter chaos. But through the noise, Shepard caught word of 'Council' and 'immediate high-priority report'.

Liara for a moment placed her hand over her mouth, just watched the cameras. Shock. Not even a hint of contemplation like she would normally do. About a third-of-a mile passed before she removed her hand and spoke. "Tali's right. This ship is enormous… far more advanced…. beautiful."

Who the hell were these people? While Liara and Tali reviewed possibly thousands of questions about these aliens, Shepard just focused on the main points. No Eezo..., somehow entering the Relays without it. He remembered the words of Sovereign, the frightful abomination. When a species finds the Relays they develop towards a predetermined technological path. And how so this cycle was no exception. How because of it the Reapers can eliminate all biological life on a whim as if they were God.

So who were they? To avoid almost any sign of Prothean or any other type of Eezo technology and completely defy the Reapers outright? What did they do to reach the level they are at now?

"A million questions. I understand." Shepard said. "But we have to find those ship survivors or make contact with the Shadow of Intent crew and establish relations."

The two only agreed in silence.

The Illium militia base became a clear outline. The soldiers were mostly Asari soldiers supplemented by Krogans, Turians, Batarians, Vorcha, and Salarians. The Mako slowed down, passing by trenches in front of a defensive walls. It came to a stop at the command center filled with a variety of species and surrounded by multiple gunships being prepped for combat by repair crews. A heavily armed Asari, possibly a commando, made her way to Shepard's group as they exited the vehicle.

The Asari held a Disciple Shotgun, a common Asari weapon. Her armor seemed to have the same problem as Shepard's, sagging and loose. There was a lieutenant ranking on her collar.

Sounds of distant combat, repair tools and heavy rain filled the air. Men gave orders with the stomping of boots to fulfill them. Shepard began to notice none of the gunships were on. No computer terminals. The only ones doing any work were engineers and mechanics with glitchy Omni-tools and other repair equipment near electrical conduits of the command structures.

"Lieutenant, I'm-" Shepard began.

"Yeah, literally almost everyone in the galaxy knows who you are, Commander Shepard. Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, blah, blah, blah. I didn't expect the Council would send someone this fast." The Lieutenant began. "I'm Lieutenant Kurin, Asari commando. I'm the commanding officer of this outer city evac center. My community sent me and my team to reinforce positions,and train the militia and help out local Alliance defenses. Fortunately both groups had the situation handled as much as you could during a Reaper invasion until a couple hours ago. We got that gigantic crashed ship, the EMP, and now this thing. Fucking Goddess, half of the weapons on my soldiers are out just for show."

"That's why we're here, Lieutenant." Shepard said. "Get on the comms, tell anyone out there who's listening to not engage the alien ship unless fired upon first."

"Yeah, sure, Commander... Repair teams just got the comms online, but it's a bit shaky. Might take a moment. Some of the radios within the city still might be out."

"How long?"

"Five, ten minutes hopefully? I'm still directing most of the repair corps to start up the transports. Civilians are priority. Those that make it from the city get sent up."

Shepard understood, not arguing with the Lieutenant about the morally correct decision. He ordered Tali to try and continue weapons and armor repairs. It took her a moment to respond, still staring at the ship. She then headed back into the Mako after a while.

The Commander took a moment, leaned back on the rear of the Mako. He noticed a good portion of soldiers stared at the ship as rays of light surrounded the ship, giving it a mirage-like appearance. Raindrops hit Shepard's face. Every once and awhile there was a howling wind striking against Shepard's check.

Liara joined him, standing in front of him with arms crossed. "Ever since I joined your crew I always thought I've seen everything the galaxy had to offer. I guess I've forgotten how insignificant we are, despite how far we've come...there's so much we still don't know."

"Well we've only discovered, what was it? One percent of the galaxy? There's still possibly thousands of species hidden out there."

"You would think with advanced technology and the abundance of the Relays they would've made contact sooner. Maybe the Reapers forced them to come out of hiding."

Shepard could see a Reaper destroyer land about sixty kilometers away, paying no attention to the base or the alien ship as it engaged targets in the hills. Blue Eezo bolts fired back at it in vain.

"Are you saying the Reapers are in the middle of attacking them?"

"I…wouldn't say that. It could be possible the Reapers never found them. These people have broken the entire system of cycles the Reapers have built."

"That's why I'm trying to stay optimistic," Shepard said, crossing his arms. "They broke the cycle, maybe they can help us break ours."

"You've been thinking about this, haven't you?"

Shepard shrugged. "Recently."

She didn't say anything, and looked back to the alien ship. A round of bright blue light fired from one of the ship's guns. They ignited within the city, painting the entire landscape and the people within it.

"One must wonder what kind of atrocities they face in order to build something purely frightening as this." She finally said.

"You see them as frightening?"

"Tali might see them as achievements, shocked from what was thought impossible. Marvels of engineering. That's undeniable... but you have to wonder what reason do they have for building and keeping a vast amount of ships. What have they faced to reach such a level? Before we met Sovereign, which seems like it was ages ago, I would've said with confidence this ship is the product of... accidental progression. They developed for such a long time that Eezo seemed trivial and unneeded. They surpassed the need…. I guess the point is, everything is on a set path. But now they can overpower the Reapers... How easy they can overpower us.

"How similar everyone really is."

"Similar?" Shepard said.

"They still discovered the Relays. And they developed on a war-set path, similar to the Krogan, similar to the Turians. All of us. As much as the Asari, for example, want to claim we're so 'peaceful' and 'superior' we still have this violent subconscious and ultimately unending conflict and pitiful hatred towards one another. If we were really peaceful we would have no need for combat biotics or commandos. It was only a matter of time before another species would come and make us look like fools, but... Not in this way. Not the same thing again. They had to survive, and this was how they did it. If they were superior, peaceful, these ships wouldn't exist."

Shepard was silent for a moment before speaking. "That's a part of being a person. With individualistic minds with a culture and society built by people...there'll always be problems. Just now the Reapers are forcing the best out of people and suppressing the worst in everyone. Now more than ever, we can build a better future. We just..."

"Have to win this." Liara said. "... Shepard... I don't share your optimism, but I hope you're right. And I hope that whoever these new people are, prove to be better than we can hope to ever be. For our sake. We've already been through enough. We can't let the unity and sudden determination fade...if we get past this.

"I don't know...I feel like I'm rambling on. It's just that everywhere we've been...it doesn't seem to get easier."

Shepard nodded, looking back to the Reaper. "I'll be honest, nowadays... my optimism is harder and harder to maintain."

She also looked past Shepard, a sympathetic and sad smile formed. She turned those blue eyes back to him. "Believe me. I know."

Before Shepard could answer someone pointed out something in the distance, alerting everyone else of an incoming object.

Shepard turned from Liara, stepping out from behind the Mako and saw what it was.

A purple ship with blue lights. Majestic like its mothership, it was thirty meters in length. A curved W made up its roof. Two small cylinders were attached to opposite sides, flowing into flat slides that revealed grey panels. It had three large mounted guns. One at the curved underside near the front of the ship and the other two guns were mounted on the side, next to the close grey panel. Triangular figures mounted them.

It made a low humming noise as it quickly moved in. On the underside of the ship a blue beam of light emitted, hitting the surface. It dropped beasts onto the ground.

They yelled something.

"Wort, wort, wort, wort."


End file.
